imaginary love song

I kiss the disappearing image
the apparition that is you
my arms around a shadow
something I can’t hold on to
I hear the imaginary lyrics
the love song that you sang
of promises not tendered
but I heard them just the same

as I write the endless letters
with invisible, hopeless ink
professing one-sided feelings
unstamped empty sheets
the sun peaks through the window
as another nightmare fades
the only evidence remaining
teardrops on a pillowcase

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

a summer made of dreams

all those things that now are dreams
walks in the rain and jumping streams
laying on the beach under star-lit nights
that summer made of love's highlights
now the leaves drop from the trees

upon us winter begins its creep
dropping hands, tides that neap
laying there, not able to sleep
the years fly and time passes by

all of the golden plans we made
a future strong, that wouldn't fade
that blurs as it grows tired and cold
extinguished like the candles glow
where did all of those hopes go?
that summer made of sweetest dreams
the leaves drop, again, from many trees
and winter, again, begins its creep
the years fly quick and love passes by

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

poetic justice

borders drawn, I step across
not a leap of faith
was it so hard?
was it that bad?
no, it was bittersweet
a rich dark chocolate
that leaves an aftertaste

were the words "I love you"
what you expected to hear?
written in flowing verse
not whispers in your ear
easier to say at a distance
while longing for you to be near

poetic justice, words that flow
vague lyrics that sweep through
softening blows, without afterglow
of all that we might have known
was it so hard?
was it so bad?
no, baby, it was bittersweet

the taste will linger
long after it melts
the wrapper tossed
your love not expressed
mine spoken for you to read
over and over
all that I bled

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

lover's wine

last night I dreamed a thousand lies 

floating on moonbeams not surmised 

a faceless lover I recognize 

dreams once dreamed that won't survive

only coming forth at night 

breezes lilting. deep green pine 

our bodies flattening a design 

on dense, sweet grass and forest vine 

love heats quickly as we entwine

and you taste a lover's wine 

sunlight hits my opened eyes

revealing all of the night lies 

of a dearly beloved and I 

blazing truth in heart not mind

this broken heart split open wide

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

chamber

in a chamber,deep within
buried hopes that now run thin
hidden here inside my heart
dreams that end without a start

close that door, without a lock
if you want in, you need to knock
no sound comes from your clenched fist
just echoes of words
from a very long list

in a chamber, deep within
fantasies that come to an end
a room in my heart
left vacant to let
unoccupied space
that you forget

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

brief moment

now you see it
now you don't
a brief moment
snuffed and gone
the candle flickered
flame never glowed
goodbye whispered
as I moved on

late at night, your
dreams are spawned
turning to lust
before the dawn
you clutch my pillow
but I've withdrawn
that side now cold
my love long gone

once you had it
now you don't
nothing missed
since you've been gone
I moved on
memories stored
new ones made
with my adored

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

thanks

thanks for no calls and the missing text
I never know, when I'll hear from you next
thanks for the heartache and all of the pain
how you make me blue, whenever it rains

thanks for the nightmares, that come in my dreams
apparitions are closer than appearing to be
thanks for the memories, leaving this scar
a crescent moon that glows when it's dark

thanks for the wreckage and all the debris
always time for everyone, never for me
thanks for all that you leave behind
for making me see that I have been blind

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

flowers and hearts (JPB)

I stood in the doorway
and watched you depart
a special day for most
filled with flowers and hearts
Valentine's day now
doesn't mean a thing
I remember the fourteenth
with the sorrow it brings

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

original sin

we danced for just a while 

you bared all in your soul 

telling me the plans you made 

before you had to go

little of me did you learn 

as all of your dreams spilled forth 

I tried hard to hold on 

but the road had many forks 

secrets of a mysterious life 

you kept them to yourself 

guarding the little white lies 

boxed high upon the shelf 

mornings after many nights

I woke to find you gone 

I knew your distant devil 

was draggin' you along 

you pack in the original sin 

with your list for all you yearn 

hold me tight just one last time

on my forehead your lips burn

you swore you were heading for happiness

and for wanting you had no shame 

I loved you when you left me 

and I will never be the same 

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

have you ever?

have you ever wondered....
why the dawn is so red
why the moon and sun appear simultaneously
why it rains across the street, but not on you
why we choose to love those--
who don't love back

have you ever wondered....
why music affects our moods
why you can't sleep when tired
why you dream--
and where they go when they die

have you ever wondered....
what is around the next corner
why some lessons, we just don't learn
where love went--
and if it's ever coming back

have you ever wondered...

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

lessons

you taught me things 

the lessons I learned well 

it's not that I'm not smart 

you know I'm quick as hell

an enigma to my friends

at most things I excel 

you taught me how to smile 

at the silliest things 

to enjoy a smooth latte 

it's a Starbucks thing 

and to enjoy a love 

the kind that your heart brings 

you taught me how to dance

as time moved too fast 

I knew you were here for now 

not how long we could last 

when the dance was over 

is when you turned your back 

the lesson I learned best 

was learned after you were gone 

no longer hearing you sing 

any of my favorite songs

the breaking of my heart 

that just keeps stretching on

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

epitaph

a heart now broken
shattered, buried deep, entombed
epitaph of love

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

a heart that weeps

I jumped the hurdles
I climbed the rungs
you went higher
I couldn’t hold on

the song you sang
I couldn’t hear
words to the wind
or on deaf ears

you disappeared
without a trace
no tracks left
the trail erased

no warning shot
you were on the move
an empty chamber
an aim not true

when you left
you took it all
no safety net
to block my fall

a broken past
a wall left breached
a soul bereft
a heart that weeps

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

days drift

days drift
feelings shift
nights are long

winds blow
love goes
rain will fall

hearts break
spirit quakes
I am gone

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

silent legacy

you just can't understand
you wonder what went wrong
shake your head in misery
you knew it all along
you saw it in a movie
you've seen it on the streets
hear it in the lyrics
as your blood begins to heat

so good at indefinable
so good at concealing too
so good at using shadows
yet you wonder why you're blue
you're praying in the darkness
for redemption on your knees
begging for forgiveness
from this silent legacy

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

the beast

you fed the beast
and nursed its growth
it's devouring your spirit,
absorbing your soul
now out of control it
obliterates the night
massive paws sweeping
the stars from your sky

unable to stop the
apocalypse that builds
a tourniquet untwisted
as the truth is revealed
too late to impede, the
demolition goes on
the beast you created
destroying your love

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

another day

I reach for you but you're not there

grabbing at straws; clutching thin air

perhaps I imagined, thought you were real

another dream that is congealed

the dawn is bleak, the raindrops fall

another storm as I recall

making it through the long hard day

dreamless nights, I'm held at bay

what was it like, before the gloom?

with beautiful flowers in full bloom

another day, a long lost time

when I was your and you were mine

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

match

every dream, every chance
you burned them all
with just one match
brushing against
memories once sweet
incinerated ash
laying at your feet

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

coup

a reason to believe 

a victory I won’t taste

tension in the feelings 

a love that’s gone to waste 

I feel it in my soul 

the words escape my lips 

a bloody, useless battle

my mind can’t seem to grip 

the air escapes the room 

and I can’t seem to breathe 

a scar that just won’t heal 

a wound that always seeps 

a heart that is still screaming

it beats it’s disbelief

never, ever thinking 

that you would really leave 

no pleasure in the moments 

that I once spent with you 

the fire that burned inside me 

defeated with your coup

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

unworn love

my love unworn 

you try it on

looking at yourself in the mirror 

turning around to see how it fits 

not liking the look 

you take it off 

toss it on the floor 

and continue shopping 

for a different size

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