earnest

you give it softly
it shines from your eyes
and from your heart
earnest feeling
earnest touch
earnest love

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

color fades

as the color fades
on dreams of yesterday
a painting bleached by sun
realization not begun

no beginnings at the end
dreams you can't transcend
the color starts to run
on what is left undone

slowly slipping from grace
bitter, scorched aftertaste
redemption never comes
from the forgotten one

thought there was more time
'fore clouds blocked the sun's light
canvass smeared, the likeness none
untouched dreams and one left shunned

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

pieces

your fingers cramped
and you ease your grip
just for a second
but it all starts to slip
dripping from your hand
so many grains of sand

as it falls around your boots
pieces of what was true
retrospect spread on the floor
fantasy, out the door
nothing like you planned
too many grains of sand

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

latte

strong espresso starts the mix
diluted with steaming, creamy milk
caramel flavor to sweeten
fluffy foam on top
me, in drink form

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

calling your name

looking at a moonless sky
darkness settling by and by
shivering in the mountain breeze
as I wish on vacant stars

reaching out but you aren't there
sensing your touch in cool night air
searching for you, but you won't be found
calling your name, calling your name

celestial stars now way up high
hollow moon in its disguise
hiding all the love I gave
dying in a cloudy grave

reaching out but you aren't there
sensing your touch in cool night air
searching for you, but you won't be found
calling your name
calling your name

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

heart

we carved a heart
in an old oak tree
just the initials
for you and me
the tree still stands
the heart still there
with love that has grown
through all these
years

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

empty hollow

you reach for the grace
of the shadow you found
a mirage that swallows
the empty hollow
inside your heart

fantasy slips your grasp
as my smile fades away
and the memories left
that hold no regret
inside my heart

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

melancholy wishes

my mind sifts through
these memories of you
the bad and the good
short times that we knew
sometimes happy
most times blue
melancholy wishes
that won't come true
so I pack them away
the lid still askew
finally, turning my back
on my love for you

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

lost

clouds hang low over darkened skies
weather fickle, and full of lies
just when I thought the cold would go
with thunder and lightning, down comes snow

I pull my collar up to my chin
my jacket now is much too thin
gloves are lost, my hands cold
mother nature is much too bold

where is spring, with grass so green
nothing is ever how it seems
frozen now, my heart sinks
others tell me how to think

decisions rest on icy roads
I'm not driving, this I know
where will summer find my heart?
in the light or in this dark

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

broken wings

all thoughts that I could have said
words that now don't mean a thing
under a full moon, cloudless night
with passion it no longer brings

in the cold of winter's sky
that will soon turn into spring
as you move, your back to me 
to a future you think green

all the feelings I once felt
just a bleak one-sided thing
a bird that sits and cannot fly
helpless with her broken  wings

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

tickle me

we lay down to take a nap
you tickle me, make me laugh
tickling leads to other things
pretty soon my spirit sings
we didn't ever go to sleep
but baby, I'm relaxed

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

moonless beach

holding what the twilight brings
sleepless nights, empty dreams
close my eyes, visions creep
passion ebbed on moonless beach

wander, footsteps in smooth sand
head down on deserted strand
listen to the ocean speak
what I hear that leaves me weak

turn around go back to start
left alone with this full heart
no one feels this love I seek
wandering on a moonless beach

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

a long-ago night

I should have confessed it all
the way you made me feel
when you were close

I thought you could read it
I thought you could see it
I thought you felt it too

now that time is gone
I waited much too long
a fantasy in time
the memories that remind
a dream from a long-ago night

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

lying

I would be lying if I said
you didn't get to me
and it would be untrue
to say it didn't mean a thing
but when you lay it all out
in my mind I have no doubts
that part of me got to you
whether you admit it or not

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

a taste of love

I can feel a love that's strong
when you hold me in your arms
I can sense a love that's true
when I'm laying next to you
I can taste a love that"ll last
left like honey on my lips
I can see a love that's vast
your heart reflecting all of this

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

drag me in

water is rising
it's ten feet deep
the undertow sweeps
me off of my feet
the currents too swift
and I can't swim
throw me a line
and drag me in

lightning streaks
across my sky
thunder crashes
in the night
hope stays useless
on the other side
be my savior
shed some light
throw me a line
and drag me in

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

ecstasy

in the darkness of the moon
from shadowed thoughts of my day
from a chamber deep within
you return to me once again

hands that travel creamy skin
lips that promise ecstasy
senses alive with each embrace
carrying me to that distant place

reality slips in with the dawn
the sun drains the smell of love
a mind that rests with foolish schemes
awakens cruelly from my dream

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

revered

through a window, near my bed, the moon shines
stars sprinkled, brightly twinkle, in the night sky
your eyes crinkle when they smile down on me
love is here, sweetly revered, and it is mine

tangled sheets, touching feet, skin on skin
passion heats, no retreats, sweet murmured sighs
wrap around, let your arms surround, encompassing all
carry me there inside your heart, make me fall

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

shadow of the wind

in the shadow of the wind
I feel Your presence
a whisper of increasing intensity
You won't show me the future
but You show me a way
to live in this life
to find contentment
to find peace
to find love

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

codes

under the surface it can't break through
deciphering the codes to get to you
I need a compass, a much better map
is it all lost or can I get back?

yesterday's news, today's headline
the story doesn't die, news at nine
I dredge it up from the bottom of the sea
what does it take, what is it you need?

I can't ease up and won't pull back
tenacity is one thing I don't lack
I fight for things in which I believe
and one of them was always you and me

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

Rescue Me

Up in this tower tall and steep
I wait for my love
on his great white steed

Rescue me from this abyss
of desolation
with just one kiss

Storm these iron gated walls
and free my love
when they do fall

All the love that’s locked within
is yours for the taking
once you come in

Hidden

Hidden in an obscure place
I found a heart shaped box
Memories came flooding back
When it was unlocked

I remember all the pain
I had sealed away
I should not have opened this
It’s causing much dismay

I thought that if I sealed it up
I would soon forget
The agony of life with you
That caused me much regret

Maybe I should burn this box
And recollections in it
Don’t know why I salvaged this
What aching it transmits

I’ll seal this box and bury deep
To stop my mind from churning
I don’t need this anymore
The lessons have been learned

clutch

I watch the hard-top slide to the truck
the desert sun immediately floods
elating, intoxicating, bathing me
you were right, this is what I need
ease off the clutch, onward I speed

the cool wind blowing through my hair
driving off without any cares
just for once I'm not looking back
exciting as popping in a full clip
you were right, this is just what I need
running the gears, now picking up speed

feeling the power in my right hand
as my boot works the tight, left pedal
who would of thought you could get such a rush
running the gears, listening to the hum
you were right, this is just what I need
no reverse, no going back, onward I roll

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

unsurpassed (v)

you finally found your love
your search now in the past
everything you needed
to quench your heart's long fast
hold it carefully my dear
but firmly in your grasp
let it consume your heart
long may this love last

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

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