no matter how it shakes

someone's got to go
somethings got to give
this time a heart will break
no matter how it shakes
the earth is going to quake
this time a heart will break
gotta feeling it will be mine

I can read the writing
there upon the wall
hidden deep in shadows
how plainly it is scrawled
no matter how it shakes
the earth is going to quake
this time a heart will break
gotta feeling it will be mine

I didn't see a master plan
if it was all flayed out
a blueprint in advance
I know I didn't stand a chance
no matter how it shakes
the earth is going to quake
this time a heart will break
I know it won't be yours
never put it on the line
I always knew it would be mine

Poetry by M.J.B. is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-Noncommercial-No Derivative Works 3.0 United States License

time

too little said too soon

or maybe, too much too late 

either way, 

the crescent moon just won't align 

reflections in a mirror, cracked 

icy winds sting my face

it ebbs and flows 

when I look back 

ticking zulu time 

Poetry by M.J.B. is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-Noncommercial-No Derivative Works 3.0 United States License

Richter

when love starts to rattle and shake 

there is really no safe place 

as your heart splits down the center 

a deep, bleeding crevice rendered 

pieces left all over the place

tears of sadness on my face 

a quake of horrific magnitude 

rocking all that's left of you 

love that is built on a fault-line 

will never stand the test of time 

7.0 scored on the Richter 

reduced to ash and cinder

Poetry by M.J.B. is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-Noncommercial-No Derivative Works 3.0 United States License

secrets

I'll claim that piece 

where secrets roam 

that hidden part

that mirrors my own

a slice of pleasure 

a dance of desire 

it's you and me baby 

an infernal fire

Poetry by M.J.B. is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-Noncommercial-No Derivative Works 3.0 United States License

a name on a list

a registered owner
a name on a list
each time I take aim
or pop in the clip
I'm waiting for the clatter
as they break down my door
the second amendment
shredded on the floor
surrender your firearm
each one for good measure
decease and desist
this awesome pleasure

Poetry by M.J.B. is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-Noncommercial-No Derivative Works 3.0 United States License

luck of the draw

I drew the cards
a game of chance
I should have known
the deck was stacked
your poker face strong
as you called my bluff
was it sleight of hand
or luck of the draw
either way, it was
always your call
and I leave the table
with nothing at all

Poetry by M.J.B. is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-Noncommercial-No Derivative Works 3.0 United States License

what lays dead

I know you think, it was all a waste
years together now erased
signing your name on a dotted line
but you recall, a different time

healing eludes your heart right now
wounds still fresh from shattered vows
each day packing hopeless hurt
each night leaving you inert

inward screams, outward cries
trying to find the answer why
box it up, stick it under your bed
say a prayer for what lays dead

Poetry by M.J.B. is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-Noncommercial-No Derivative Works 3.0 United States License

forget the math

I want to make it easier 

stop over analyzing, 

more compromising 

one and one doesn't always equal two 

gonna stop putting up walls 

let it out of the box 

erase the lines that I drew 

I want to take it easier 

take it as it comes

push the envelope some

 
Poetry by M.J.B. is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-Noncommercial-No Derivative Works 3.0 United States License

happily ever after

shall I start yet once again? 

look for it, seek it, search hard 

will it come to me? 

a spring breeze 

blowing down from green mountains

or arriving on wings of doves 

will it ride in a cowboy hero? 

from an old black and white 

swinging me up behind on his horse 

as I wrap my hopes and dreams 

around an image of what it should all mean 

hanging on for dear life 

as we gallop off into the sunset 

and live happily every after 

or not

Poetry by M.J.B. is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-Noncommercial-No Derivative Works 3.0 United States License

door-frame

opening the door was easy
it wasn't made of wood
it wasn't barred
no lock with a skeleton key
closing it is harder
it remains ajar
your foot inserted firmly
in the door-frame

Poetry by M.J.B. is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-Noncommercial-No Derivative Works 3.0 United States License

face up

I lay them on the table 

all my cards face up 

there's nothing up my sleeve 

or sleight of hand card tricks 

all my truth and fiction 

laid out for you to see

ante up or call my bluff 

sometimes enough 

is never enough

Poetry by M.J.B. is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-Noncommercial-No Derivative Works 3.0 United States License

digging in

going to grasp you tight 

hold on for the ride 

dig my feet in 

get ready to begin 

like a bronc from the chute 

excitement awaits 

clutching the rope 

grabbing on to hope 

let's take this wild ride 

before the horn's blare

one hand in the air

I may land in the dirt 

hitting face first

eight seconds like hours 

as I ride and get bucked 

but I hold on tight 

clutching the rope

grabbing on to hope 

let's finish this wild ride

Poetry by M.J.B. is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-Noncommercial-No Derivative Works 3.0 United States License

haiku

a mind that plays tricks
on a heart that won't catch on
cataclysm results

Poetry by M.J.B. is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-Noncommercial-No Derivative Works 3.0 United States License

hurdle

I ran the distance 

hurdled the thoughts 

the track not clear 

in this dismal fog 

breathless, fatigued

I jump over them all 

one hurdle left 

and I hit the wall

Poetry by M.J.B. is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-Noncommercial-No Derivative Works 3.0 United States License

be gone

be gone lamented thoughts 

be gone with all your baggage 

leave this pen and paper

don't think of coming back 

let me write of love 

and happy fantasies 

I'm sick of feeling like this 

I'm tired of this elegy 

be gone lamented thoughts 

and don't think of coming back 

Poetry by M.J.B. is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-Noncommercial-No Derivative Works 3.0 United States License

reread

my ego thought 

that you wrote for me 

and what it read 

filled it with glee 

but looking back 

all those reread

it wasn't about me

just all in my head

Poetry by M.J.B. is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-Noncommercial-No Derivative Works 3.0 United States License

glee

on a cold, rainy day 

it springs forth 

deep from within 

the chamber that holds 

on a cold, rainy day 

transparent silver drops

pour from my heart, 

pelting yours 

leaving puddles at your feet 

 yet, you stay dry

strategically stepping 

instead of splashing in glee

Poetry by M.J.B. is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-Noncommercial-No Derivative Works 3.0 United States License

text

a voice-mail number 

text on my screen

my imagination 

parked forever in a dream

satellites scramble 

my heated words 

as you hit delete

now that's absurd!

Poetry by M.J.B. is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-Noncommercial-No Derivative Works 3.0 United States License

skipping pages

I'm reading a book 

but skipping pages 

a true story 

about a fire that rages 

viewed from a valley 

surrounded by ranges 

dense black smoke 

from the scorching sages 

I skim ahead, 

parts quite enthralling 

some chapters don't fit 

this book at all 

other parts tear 

at my hearts wall

it doesn't end 

quite like I thought

Poetry by M.J.B. is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-Noncommercial-No Derivative Works 3.0 United States License

another year older

closer to another year older 

wiser?? not so much!

I'm living on fast forward 

and over extended luck 

time is slipping away 

all those things I wanted to do 

my bucket list gets longer 

my sentence not commuted 

I need to revise a long, long list 

is there time to beat the clock? 

before my life is over 

and on pearly gates I knock

Poetry by M.J.B. is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-Noncommercial-No Derivative Works 3.0 United States License