the border

I could get hit by a bus just crossing the street
my friends think I'm nuts, just plain crazy
the border unsafe, my life may be at stake
but that is a risk that I just have to take

I can't explain the tranquility
the Sea of Cortez brings to me
my feet propped up upon the wall
no worries or cares..plague or befall
it's time to get away from it all
danger be damned, I hear the call

I'm not dumb, I know of the perils
I may be a duck, floating in a barrel
I watch every story, as each unfolds
if it's bad there, I just won't go

the hazards of life around every corner
maybe more significant for a foreigner
a lamb of God, I just may be
I say a prayer that He watches me
but the tides are calling my name
and I have to answer just the same

I could get hit by a bus just crossing the street
my friends think I'm nuts, just plain crazy
the border unsafe, my life may be at stake
but that is a risk that I have to take


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

Mimosa

sweet Mimosas on a warm summer evening
cool, light, refreshing
that is what you are to me
giving me just what I need

the stresses of some earlier days
hanging heavy on my spirit
like tiles on a board that make you think
you sang a song and I could hear it

a little picnic just for two
laughing and playing like days gone by
your arms around me holding me tight
what was faded shines bright in the light

only a friend would take the time
to ease my soul, ease my mind
this is what you did for me
always there in times of need


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

July 4th

they gave me a lei of red, white and blue
and a neon bracelet that glowed in dark
when the sun went down and the stars came out
fireworks were shooting in the sky at the park

it was thirty-nine years ago
there were fireworks of a different kind
I was a bride of just one day and on my honeymoon
that was a fourth of July, that I will never forget
all of those years passed much too quick
I was widowed much too soon

we built a life, we lived on love, we had a couple of kids
there were hard times as the ups and downs of marriage settled in
I may have taken for granted, that you would always stay
you left too soon, though not your wish, it still came to an end


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

Mexico

driving down to Mexico as I get close to the border
cell phone quits in Organ Pipe, no calls that I will miss
I can stay in contact via WiFi and my red laptop
it's time to get some piece of mind and put some things to order

the patrol with semi-automatics, warn of all the dangers
I can't let this stop me from this one place that I love
I heed what they're saying, stowing it in the trunk
be careful who you run into and watch out for all strangers

past the checkpoint, past the gate, into Mexico I drive
sunroof open, sun streaming in, cool breeze upon my face
all that is behind me, will be there when I get back
I have insurance for my car but none for my own life

the minutes tick by quickly, although I don't need a watch
the time that I spend by the sea erases what I want to forget
prolific by the hour, the prose flows straight from my heart
blood no longer oozes or seeps from each and every scratch


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

rapport

will it all slip and slide
back to before
falling to the wayside
just another chore
I'm counting on you
not to once more ignore
to hold it intact
to hold the rapport


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

standby

I list for my flight
what I once thought was confirmed
never a sure thing


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

Warheads

like "Warheads" candy
sucking the tartness outside
sweetness underneath


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

there for me

you were there for me
I called you...distressed and scared
a friend when in need


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

the distance in between

it isn't that I don't care any more
or that I could care any less
it just all comes to the point
when the will to fight is gone
I didn't hide the truth
it was always shining through
you know it and so do I

how can you be sad, if what you didn't have
is suddenly gone in the night
and it wasn't the span of miles
the distance in between you and I
that breaks us apart in the end
it is when one cares too much
and the other cares too little
without a bridge to connect in the middle

it isn't that I don't care any more
or that I could care any less
it just all comes to the point
when the will to fight is gone
I didn't hide the truth
it was always shining through
you know it and so do I

just be glad, for the time that we had
I didn't hide the truth
it was always shining through
you know it and so do I


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

reward

it is not that He was punishing me
but more so--that He was rewarding you
you must have done something extra special
for Him to have brought me into your life


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

put to rest

the remainder shreds
boxes from six years ago
are put to rest too


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

this time

this time..it will be different
this time..it will all work out fine
this time has come, this time is now
this time, this love will be mine

this time..I will go more slowly
this time..there is only we two
this time the love songs are just for me
this time, this time, this time

this time..it will be different
this time your love is mine


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

wine

it's like a fine, fine bottle of wine
opened to breathe before you drink
you admire the beauty--that dark, rich color
and savor that redolent smell
your taste buds start to water
for that first sweet, sweet sip
carefully, by the crystal stem
it is raised to expectant lips

but the flavor isn't as honeyed
as we had hoped that it would be
the clarity not as perfect
for the price of the bottle paid
and what falls to the bottom
the sediment, if you will
goes there for a reason
they're the dregs poured down the drain


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

I am

I am today, what yesterday wrought
what the day brings in, what my soul has bought
the spirit that leaves as the day grows strong
what's left in shadows from yesterday's song

I am right now, what tomorrow brings
without the luster, without the dreams
headstrong tolerance, disposition wasted
from bittersweet memories that I once tasted


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

stir the ash

stir the ash
breathe life unto the glowing ember
tend and stoke this fire
come closer to the hearth
stretch your hands to the warmth
stoke the embers to this heart
breathe life into this love


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

wrong

what I thought I had found
quickly, is lost
what I thought I held
doesn't hold me back
what I thought was love
doesn't love me
what I thought reality
proves me wrong


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

limbo

what do you think the reason?
we met that cold, cold season
was it your need for someone that sees
or mine that weren't even obvious

what do you think the reason?
that April played us a song
five hundred days we've weathered
the ever increasing storms

what do you think the reason?
this limbo where it lays
neither heaven or hell where
it now does dwell

what do you think the reason?
we met that cold, cold season


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

what was and what is true

naw, you aren't going to die
probably not even bleed
everyone is expendable
everything can be replaced
naw...you aren't going to die

yeah, it's easy to go on without me
you'll do more than just get by
so much more you can do now
with all of that free time

only you knew the difference
'tween what was and what is true
I should have read today's paper
instead of yesterday's news

from my one-sided perception
I'll just keep filling these pages
you may pen one too
lyrics with beautiful vagueness
'bout nothing meaning anything to you

naw, you aren't going to die
probably not even bleed
everyone is expendable
everything can be replaced
naw...you aren't going to die
I found out neither will I


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

victimless crime

in your accordion pleated folder
you file me away
like just another bill
you have extra days to pay

watch out for the late fees
if the check isn't on time
it can cost you plenty
but it's a victimless crime


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

silver lining

if you're not missing any pieces
if I don't have your heart
what once was a perfect circle
at the seams now rips apart

if I settle for disappointments
if indifference is the rule
if I hold it up to the light
my mind wraps around the truth

if this rain that gently falls
washes this blank slate clean
then the silver lining would be
it was all just fantasy


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

what once was

this time I won't buckle
this time I won't quit
as I lay face down
in the midst of this
this time I hold strong
this time I hold on
what once was is past
what once was is gone


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

I said

all I had to say
there wasn't anything more
thanks for listening


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

love

love knocks on your door
a loud rapping sound
winking and smiling
stealing your heart
it takes away your breath
sings to your soul
dances with your spirit
worth every minute


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

my friend

there is a sweet whisper
blowing through mesquite
singing your name
my long lost friend
and I miss those days

when the shadows stretch long
before the darkness falls
I think of you my long lost friend
wondering where you went

just before I sleep
before I start to dream
I say a prayer for us my friend
praying you return to me


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

moving on

I met you there and wanted you here
politely you decline, your will does resist
after you opened the door to my heart
you pack it all up and move on

I get through the evenings, look to tomorrow
eluding the dreams, long gone fantasies
what came as a shadow, disperses in the dark
after you took it all and moved on

now comes the time for me to move on too
not live in the past, with what little you left
will it always remain, that once sweet refrain
every thought, every feeling that was you


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