skies of blue

one last look, at the past as it drifts
across the mountains into the sea of rifts
no safety nets or easy rides
on the wave of life or ocean tide

I meant every word, played every part
the stars in the sky that blinded my heart
I wouldn't change even one little thing
what heartaches fall and memories bring

I look in the mirror and face the fears
was it just a moment or many a year
as I lose track of what it means
tears fall fast from eyes of green

I write my messages on your wall
the comments that mean nothing at all
thoughts of fair weather and skies of blue
and all I dreamed I saw in you

it was all there, every single part
every lyric ever sang right from the start
at midnight Cinderella had to run
and two fades quickly into one

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

quenched

I could see it off in the distance
it beckoned to me, an oasis for the parched
offering honey and the sweetest wine
a promise to fill for a lifetime
the closer I get, further off it seems
a haze that dissipates in the midst
never quite able to grasp, to taste
to finally drink until I'm quenched
the vagueness, the mental imagery
disappears, eluding me

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

within reach

the moon lays buried 

where solitude expands

I'm gazing at billboards

and broken lines on asphalt

all lead away from the past 

I'm longing for the morning 

to rise upon the hills 

I can't get the speed I need 

but I'm still shifting gears 

while watching for the sunrise

and blue sky days ahead 

I sink within the darkness 

I rise with each new sun

knowing the pivotal point I'll reach 

before this day is done

it will shrink in the rear view 

and that's all I will leave 

better for having been there

but much too proud to stay 

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

fung shui

I opened up some boxes
in this vast, echoing chamber
had a little white elephant sale
ridding some of the old treasures
rearranged the pieces left
redecorated all fung shui
and discovered there's plenty of room
for what will come my way

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

eclipsed

so this is where you are 

and this is where we meet 

between unsure and unknown 

streets paved with unrealized dreams 

did I hear you say that it's wrong 

or was it something's not quite right 

where could we have gone 

but where we did that night 

you stopped far short of love

the words never crossed your lips

your sun blocks out my moon 

and hope is totally eclipsed 

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

silent stars

silent stars shoot across dark sky
a comet's death, lonely they die
like hopes that fade, all
beliefs that wane, quickly
in the blink of an eye

I once believed in fairy tales
of a savior prince, the wall he scales
rhymes once written long ago
they're not true, this I now know
fantasy in gory detail

the moon rises high in velvety night
twinkling stars enhance my plight
do I look for happily ever after?
braving disaster after disaster
trying to rid this stage fright

silent stars shoot across dark sky

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

embedded

I ran a scan for infestations 

looking to rid all complications

viruses through my heart still course 

the heartaches there and much remorse

the scan says all herein is clean 

I think it's wrong...

that's what I believe 

or it's embedded way too deep 

I know it's there 

I feel it seep

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

morning doves

sing your song, morning doves
it lilts so sweetly on the early morning breeze
I know you are not singing to me
but in the stillness of this cool morning
before my day really begins
sing your song

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

redemption day

tried too hard to hide it
melancholy seeping through
this shadow on my soul
the sun does not get to

singing my song to you
and casting it to the wind
echoes in the stillness
throbbing pain within

following your heart's path
the one that leads away
abandon thoughts left here
it's your redemption day

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

slow

so we danced for awhile
and we danced real close
the lyrics blue
the tempo slow

you held me tight
whispered in my ear
just for one night
the meaning clear

so we danced for awhile
and we danced real slow
that song has ended
that one night gone

transparent

when the fog starts to clear
transparent like glass
what you knew going in
starts to tumble down fast

when the pieces start to fit
finding the one that you missed
once hidden under a rug
'neath the chair where you sit

closure will come
as I distance you from me
like the old saying goes
the truth sets you free

running with scissors

I am running with scissors, throwing caution to the wind
jumping many fences, that used to rein me in
be damned with what they think; or think that they may know
I am not quite finished yet, nor is it time to go

I'm sliding down the banister, of the stairway that leads up
and I am pretty thirsty for what runs over my cup
it's not a mountain breeze, more like a hurricane
the thunder is still crashing and there's lightning just the same

how we've come this far,with still more paths to travel
held together with glue so we don't come unraveled
I don't think we're close to being over or done
another night does pass and up comes the warm sun

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

it rings as truth

did I go too far? not far enough?
too late to pull back or call your bluff
it is written in script, and props for the stage

should have known better now at this age  
vindication of scenes in minuscule facts
the curtain gets drawn on the second act
backstage cues for what's raw in the wings
unheard words and unseen things

it used to be easy--a dress rehearsal
we laughed and cried being not too careful
like mama said, being far to curt
"it is all fun and games till one gets hurt"
I thought she spoke of childish things
it seems she predicted what tomorrow brings
a smart woman who always knew the score
maybe she had seen it once before
either way, it rings as truth
crystal clear, it rings as truth

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

sacrifice

were you saving it for later?
looking through a scope?
were you trying to pull it together?
this life, your past, these hopes

were you looking for who you are?
as you leave your past in a ditch
were you thinking I'd wait forever
it would go off without a hitch?

were you swimming against the current?
as your fantasies float downstream
were you trying to pull it together?
as you sacrifice one more dream

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

sanity

I sacrificed my sanity
it took a road trip on its own
packing light, taking flight
with all its baggage stowed
gone for just a little while
taking the do's and don'ts
figured it out, now its back
my sanity has come home

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

shallow stream

mountain breeze
whispers sweet
through the desert brush

skies of blue
cloudless, too
once a perfect day

memories fade
as love wades
across a shallow stream

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

no relief

I told you the truth and it didn't set me free
I lived a lie and it's killing me
I spilled it all, told you every word
you turned your back and pretend you heard

it rose high in the sky with the mornin sun
it came back to haunt... all I've said and done
I prayed to the wall about rattles in my brain
no relief came...nothing masks my pain

did you love me for a minute underneath the moon?
did I leave a mark deep inside of you?
was it only on the surface or hidden in your heart?
was there anything there after all of our starts?

tomorrow comes and it's like yesterday
I write the same words with the same refrains
somehow I think it will make you realize
that I was smart enough to read between your lines

I told you the truth and it didn't set me free
I lived a lie and it's killing me
I spilled it all, told you every word
you turned your back and pretend you never heard

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

Birthday

at the stroke of midnight

another year blows past 

like dust in the wind 

like fire burns to ash 

reflecting on it all

what is now yesterday 

the lessons that I've learned 

memories that were made 

would I change any one moment

 if I had the chance? 

let me think for a second

NOT ON YOUR LIFE

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

between the lines

I'm reading every line
and what is inbetween
I'm savoring it all
exploring my own meaning
this story is very different
without the turns and twists
sounds like a beginning
at least that is my gist

not a country song
bout how she done him wrong
more like a little ditty
a lyrical love song
lay it out with music
it'd be my favorite melody
for now I keep on reading
dreaming it's about me

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

confessions

at the time of my confessions
when no one can hear me
when my needs are deepest
when I’ve lost all belief
sweating out the danger
in the depths of my despair
a mind that travels backward
on a trail that was unfair

the ferocity of the moments
a roadmap with no plan
with faithless understanding
staggering like a blind man
this avalanche of anger
termites eating my soul
slipping from those moments
into Alice's black hole

I'm looking through the window
at the hellish burning flame
always on the outside
but I hear them call my name
in the sorrows of the evening
on a chilly winter night
the loneliness continues
this dream that conjures fright

drenched with trepidation
as I shake myself awake
from this master plan of sorrow
a tale where I remain

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