Fields

Fields of green, skies of blue
A perfect summer day
Walking on a tree lined path
Enjoying the sun’s rays

In this perfect picture
No clouds or sidewalk cracks
No stressors or no tension
long as I don’t look back

Keep on walking forward
Forget the past torment
Focus on the future
And how to stay content

Don’t concentrate on problems
Trouble or upheavals
Keep on heading onward
Lay to rest all the past evils

Heaven's Prisoner

I am heaven’s prisoner
don’t want to escape
Stay in this nirvana
A soft and special place

Didn’t do anything amazing
Must have done something right
Nothing remarkable or extraordinary
But you are in my life

You treat me like I’m special
You honor, protect and love
I don’t deserve this pedestal
I can’t be worthy of

At night when we’re together
I reach the promised land
Hours of devoted pleasure
At your loving hands

I don’t want a pardon
Never leave this place
I’ll stay heaven’s prisoner
Forever in your embrace

Swimming

Swimming on a wave less sea
Perfect, smooth as glass
Long, even, strong strokes

Glancing back, I am far from shore
Alone, tiring, cold
Strength waning

Floating now I start back
Kicking forcefully, arms churning
Against the strong current

Swimming is like life
Sometimes struggling and fighting tides
Sometimes smooth even strokes

perfect balance

the debits and credits
that make up our lives
need to balance

the good offsets the bad
the certainty offsets the doubt
balance

making up offsets anger
laughter offsets sadness
balance

hope offsets despair
smiles offset tears
balance

fun offsets work
love offsets hate
balance

you balance me!

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

distraction

let's go to the beach house
the week is weighing on me
I need to feel the distraction
from you and the deep blue sea

let's go to that place I love
feel the warm rays of the sun
we won't be able to go swimming
but we can still have some fun

let's light that outside fire
on the terrace under the moon
get a view of the southern exposure
and sleep until way past noon

let's walk the beach in the evening
leave our footprints in the sand
stars so close you can touch them
and hold them in your hand

let's snuggle under a blanket
and share a glass of wine
as moonlight floods the window
and our love intertwines

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

empty hearts

you and I
move away in search of life
different directions same hopes
love escapes us both

temporary happiness
temporary love
dreams dissipate in sun
when the night is done

searching always searching
run from love to love
destiny falls apart
leaving empty hearts

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

Arizona 666

it is much too late
to change my course
to retrace my path
take a different road

this one isn't marked
this one isn't paved
blown rubber from retread tires
a construction hazard zone

this treacherous trail
worse than Arizona 666
no place to pull off
this road that turns and twists

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

toll

it really wasn't quite fair
the profit that came to you
at the cost of my redemption
the recompense I paid

just like a Midwest highway
the tolls they bleed for use
the value of what is measured
set by others at my expense

you pocket the small stipend
my love, my heart, my soul
moving on to the new quarry
an unsuspecting host

never looking over your shoulder
there's nothing that holds you back
a conscience not left muddled
your scruples still unimpaired

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

A Promise Of More

The less important things
are easy to give;
opinions, options, ideas

What if I want more?
Is that a possibility?
Can a wish make it so?

I want it all!
The deeper meaning and feelings
Love, passion, romance

It's not to much to ask
We can build on what we have,
solidify the relationship

Can you make me a promise?
If you feel the same,
a promise of more

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

Falling

I’m falling from heaven
The angel’s grasp, I slip through
Reaching and clawing
With nothing to clutch to

Clouds can not save me
As I hurtle to earth
Closer to peril
Closer to the dirt

Picking up momentum now
As the fall speeds quickly on
Life passes before me
And the things I did wrong

The doors that were open
Are shut tight and barred
Limbo no longer
Hell’s door is ajar

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

Paradise

Alone in paradise
A secluded beach
Just for me

A place to put my mind in order
Reflect on my life
The direction it has gone, can go

The waves cleanse
The sand cool and moist
Under my feet

My mind is clear
My spirit strong
My soul at peace

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

disavowed

the way I am feeling
can not be expressed
not by speaking or by prose

all that you said
I took as the truth
and I locked it in my heart

the truth has been disavowed
the promise, revoked
by action that speaks louder than words

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

No Surrender

I thought that you might be the knight
The colors waved seemed true
removing the fortress around my heart
On a black steed you rode through

Not a damsel in distress
My world was pure and good
No need for any rescue
I knew just where I stood

The many colors you displayed
Were from damsels before me
The lance you carried pierced their hearts
But I refused to see

The fortress before was so secure
No chance of penetration
The knowledge that I learned before
Protecting my heart’s foundation

The damage that’s been done here
May never be repaired
There may be too much carnage
From the short time you were there

I will need a deeper moat
A wall that can’t be breached
For my self preservation
For a heart that won’t be reached

My heart will not surrender
It will stay locked up in the tower
Never trusting, never loving
Never to be empowered

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

Lessons From Life

I have learned some lessons
Life has taught me well
To taper my true feelings
And some thoughts not to tell

How to face each challenge
How to move ahead
Make my own decisions
Hopeful and without dread

Contemplate my options
Thinking each one through
Moving swiftly forward
through what life throws at you

Experiencing changes
Happiness, sorry, or strife
It’s what we do that get’s us here
That is this thing called life

Heaven's Door

In dreams you’re lying next to me
I’m at heaven's door
Take me to that special place
You took me once before

In dreams you are devoted
I’m all that you live for
Our loving is so special
Could not ask for more

In dreams I am your center
Your essence and your core
Can not live without me
It’s me that you adore

In dreams you’ll never leave me
Our lives they are entwined
Living, loving to the max
I engulf your mind

In dreams our love is so surreal
Nothing ever comes between
Loving comes so natural
Everything  is serene

And then the daylight it does come
Dreams now fade away
Permanently etched into my mind
The dreams of yesterday

sleep

when the night keeps you from sleeping
with thoughts that cut too deeply
the night folds into another day
while sleep escaped or stayed away

sunrise comes up way to fast
a beautiful day the clouds have cast
another day, you do your best
plenty of coffee and lots of tests

evening comes, you're overtired
your dream card seems again expired
you toss and turn and pillow plump
every noise will make you jump

just when slumber comes your way
alarm clock sounds another day
just two hours is not enough
praying for help as you fill your cup

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

in the middle

I know I got too close
to that burning flame
too late to back away
too late to win this game
oh so many reasons
too long that I stayed
way too many players
to be placing some blame

sometimes it is hard
to figure it all out
sometimes it is clear
when you extract the doubts
what is it that you do
when finally ready to quit
caught up in the middle
between the thin and thick

sometimes it's easy
to figure it all out
sometimes crystal clear
when you weigh in the doubts

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

empty chamber

with the only key
you open the door
to my heart

entering the empty chamber
you hang your love
on a hook

comfortable with the quiet
you whisper sweet words
infusing love through my veins

you close the door behind you
locking it from the inside
you remain

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

atmospheric pressure

my heart a jet plane
yours; atmospheric pressure
air too thin for lift

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

cowboy

a cowboy dreams of mountains
and sleeping under stars
after riding open country
trails that have no bars

inner fences that need mending
from what life handed down
seeking answers from saguaro
in the desert that surrounds

the sun that bakes your spirit
cold nights that chill your soul
seeking never finding
what you need to make you whole

maybe higher in the mountains
is the anointing stream
to ease the pain you’re feeling
turning nightmares into dreams

how many nights left lonely?
how many campfires burn?
how many days left thirsty?
how many lessons must you learn?

travel onward cowboy
continue on your quest
keep searching for the answers
so your soul can find some rest

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

list

he said he was looking for something
the things that he had missed
the things that others relish
as he shows her his list

she said she'd help him find it
she peruses what he needs
she smiles and gives it back
saying "yeah, this list is me"

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

red sky

the red sky at night
bleeding passion to the sea
hissing as it cools

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

reality check

you crack that smile
as you tell the truth
your happiness beginning
to finally shine through

it's going to be just fine
as it all gets to the point
let me sleep on it tonight
and I'll get back to you

maybe it's the reality check
finally in the mail
hanging it all out to read
as the hammer hits the nail

it's going to be just fine
it's all coming to that point
let me sleep on it tonight
and I'll get back to you

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

tunnels

way down deep
in the tunnels of my soul
hide the thoughts and feelings
that I have never shown

like a vortex in the ocean
with no ending it begins
circling always circling
as my mind continues to spin

as the hands sweep on a clock
I try to brush them all aside
they keep swimming to the surface
washed in with the high tide

the wall with cracks and fissures
that weakens as I dream
returning when I wake
pebble ripples in a stream

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

revealed

lock the door
leave it all outside
embrace the gift
here that we find

I find the truth
in what I feel
an open heart
your love revealed

lock the door
leave it all outside
embrace the gift
here that we find

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