Skill

You play at this relationship
Like it is a game of chess

How did you develop this strategy?
How many of us have fallen from your skill?

My queen is in serious danger
All of her ranks and files breached, no protection

My queen falls,
Little chance did she have to survive

Your king castling
Going in for the kill

Once again, you win
The champion extraordinaire

Checkmate, another heart, another trophy
To display with the others

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

Pretenses

I could see it right away
Even from across the room
that you were taller in your own eyes than in mine

Not so hard to read
I can see through the façade
and can accurately predict the outcome

You tipped your hand
Not so very good at poker
Your cover is blown

Your pretenses - false
Your flirtation - phony
Your victory - non existent

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

Spinning Dreams

Holding to my inner strength
I am stronger than I think

Always taking on to much
Living life without a crutch

Trying hard to keep some order
Holding fast to all my borders

Looking for the ties that bind
Going to make it work this time

It takes two to play the game
Keep it simple without blame

Loving you is not that hard
If I leave my heart unbarred

No tall fences to surround
No protection for what I’ve found

Holding on and spinning dreams
Dreams are what it takes it seems

ZZZ's

Close my eyes, clear my mind
Try to catch some zzz’s
I go through this every night
And still can’t fall to sleep

I’ve tried a number of various ways
I read or try TV
Nothing seems to help me
Not any remedy

How many days can I stay up
Without a wink of rest
I wonder how many others
Have been put to this test

I have to figure out what to do
This whole thing is very old
I don’t care to even dream
I just need to doze

Going to take a pill tonight
I have no other choice
Going to bed as soon as it’s dark
To slumber, rest, rejoice

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

buried in a phrase

what I say, or what I think
isn't always placed in ink
on these pages of my thoughts
the remedies for all I sought

in the  silent, empty spaces
where my thoughts leave reverent traces
another place sought without with time
when love grew luscious on a vine

what you buried in a phrase
amused many with glasses raised
and me who thought I knew it all
hung up on lines while deep enthralled

a circle, blind, 'neath blazing sun
where my heart came so undone
all you tried, to hold me fast
nothing like that ever lasts

a sea of faces, you seek mine
I'm not there, I think you'll find
but snug and happy here at home
where my love has ceased to roam

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

read

when I am tense
and can't fall to sleep
we snuggle up in bed
and you read to me

my head on your shoulder
like when I was a child
your arm around me tight
leaving me beguiled

the sound of your voice
resonating in your chest
a safe and warm feeling
that I love the best

like my mother did
checking if I sleep
even if I am
you continue reading

it's times like this
that I love you most
protected, warm and loved
while you hold me close

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

Observation

I study you as I sit with coffee
You stride in tall, confident, smiling

You start your flirtation
unabashed, unrelenting, non-hesitant

Feeling observation, you look my way
wink, and continue

She is blindsided, never knew what hit her
as you walk out of the door and her life

He Wrote

he wrote "i think you're beautiful"
he wrote "i think you're fine"
he wrote "i want to meet you
and maybe make you mine"

she thought "i think he's handsome"
she thought "he writes real fine"
she thought "what will happen
if we meet sometime"

he wrote "there's several others"
he wrote "it's not the same"
he wrote "i think you're special
you like to play word games"

she thought "i like his blogging"
she thought "i like his rhymes"
she thought "but all the others,
is he worth my time"

and so it does continue
the mystery and the prose
will there be a meeting?
if so, what will unfold?

Ripples

I was told that with this life
you “take it as it comes”
Not knowing ever day to day
if  will hit some bumps

There’s no 12 step program
no outline I can use
no safety net to catch me
for my preordained dues

If I “take it as it comes”
and never once fight back
I’ll live my life to safely
and mostly right on track

I’d rather cause some ripples
and not accept my lot
So they will know that I fought back
and gave as good as I got

Eventually

Planning to get to it
Putting it on “to do”
I’ll get there eventually
When I’m needing to

May be time tomorrow
I can do it then
Not right now or not today
My time is pretty thin

Ok it’s tomorrow
Still can’t do it now
What was I even thinking
This has caused a row

I’ll just cross it off my list
There just is no way
Eventually has come and gone
No time left in my day

Next time I’ll plan it better
More precise and strict
Eventually it will get done
At the very top of the list

feigning innocence

pretending you didn't see
oblivious truths
painful and too deep
as your heart turned the corner

you don't look back
feigning ignorance
about what is behind
or what could be

after a while
you circle back
presuming,one more time
that I didn't notice your absence

not unlike Jeopardy
every answer with a question
no point value
to be gained

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

Consequences

When I was your darlin’
Life was mighty fine
Love and laughter daily
Wanton hours of time

Always in the sunlight
Always cuddled and warm
Always stroked and sheltered
Enveloped in your strong arms

But you’re the one that harmed me
Devastated my safe life
Left my ego shattered
Left me empty nights

I was just your plaything
Your darlin’ little toy
That you grew tired of playing with
Like any precocious boy

Love should come with a warning
Printed big and bold
“play this at your own risk
consequences do enfold”

Balance

Slowly, trudging onward
Honest and forthright
Trying just to find my way
Stumbling, uncertain, contrite

Like a ship that needs more ballast
Or a sail that needs more wind
Moving slowly forward
Trying to transcend

Working out the problems
Settling of scores
Doing just the best I can
Always wanting more

When all the work is finally done
At the end of my long day
I clear my mind and close my eyes
And I file it all away

Tomorrow it starts over
Another just the same
Start with new prospective
More balance is my aim

To help all of those in need of it
All those that I can
To be a rock of steadiness
Is a formulated plan

The good I do for others
Will instill the strength I need
For life to take new meaning
That’s when I will succeed

cyber cowboy

a cyber cowboy
watching his herd
fighting each virus
that threaten his words
your boots tap impatiently
under your desk
fenced in by your office
and the world wide web
but that's not where you mind is

a computer cowboy
a 21 inch screen
writing the programs
not living his dream
you climb in your pick-up
at the end of your day
want to shuck it all
just drive away
cause this is not where your heart is

your mind rides the range
when you're not punching keys
holding to reins
not hitting delete
your heart in the mountains
the saguaro call
the taste is sweet
and you savor it all
your time will come
your dreams will manifest
into a reality

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

more than this

the feeling that comes
a complete surprise
awakening my heart
after all this time

a breath of fresh air
passion renewed
your subtle charm
my sky again blue

tender kisses
tight caress
caring heart
much more than this

I knew you were out there
and you would find me
if I only waited
if I only believed

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

teardrops

teardrops of angels
falling gently down on me
baptizing my soul

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

paint

the paint stays wet
on my do it by numbers life
a portrait never finished
still changing all the time
will it ever be completed?
will it ever dry?
constantly mixing hues
in this busy life of mine

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

date rap (his spoken, mine thought)

"sorry, I'm late"
"gee, you look great"
"I brought you these flowers"
(this date may take hours)

"who do you know?"
"let's go to a show"
"eat dinner real late"
(will I every escape?)

"you need to go home?"
"can I call your cell phone?"
"can I kiss you goodnight?"
(as I run in fright!!)

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

labels

you may have lost your Stetson
you'll always have your boots
you're still wearing Wranglers
and you still like to shoot
you still love the mountains
and all of them country tunes
you may not have a Stetson
but you still have cowboy roots


maybe you don't rope and punch
there are oh so many ways
that you can be a cowboy
on just about any day
with the kindly "thank ya ma'am"
and your beat up pickup truck
"cowboy" is just a label
that label is pretty well stuck

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

Life

When I look back upon my life
when I am old and grey
I’ll know I made a difference
and be remembered just that way

Remembered for the good times
Remembered for the bad
Remembered for all the twists and turns
whether we were happy or sad

And when the light is fading
and my time has come to go
It won’t be with sadness,
just an extinguishing of the glow

old ghosts

for all the ones who tried to stay
who said I tossed it all away
that wanted most to be the one
even though I was so done

the ones who mattered but didn't care
if I was gone or I was there
no messages left here on my phone
to check for later when I was home

maybe your signal was just to weak
maybe your battery started to leak
whatever reason, it matters not
if you remembered, or you forgot

all those days so long ago
in a box that I sort through
keeping all that matter most
nothing sacred from those old ghosts

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

Defined

Living in a blue sky world
Beginning of the day
Time to start my morning
Things start off ok

Work is really crazy
So much to get done
I like it when I’m busy
That’s what makes it fun

Day is almost over
It went by so fast
Finish what I started
Follow up on tasks

Everything completed
Finally time to go
You are waiting for me
The high point that I know

Unwind, relax, recap our day
With a glass of wine
The best part of my blue sky world
The part that’s best defined

You are the center of my life
Your love is pure and true
Loving you is easy
And I thank God for you

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

Amazing Grace

If you can see inside my soul
Can you heal me, make me whole

Can you take away the pain
Heal me with a cleansing rain

If you can see through this facade
It would be an act of god

If you can love me for who I am
Give your all and not condemn

Take me to a better place
Restore me with amazing grace

Restore with unconditional love
Like an angel from above

Heal and guide if you know how
Heal my soul and save me now

Then I’m not eternally cursed
Not afflicted, not coerced

Rescued, salvaged, then set free
All because you believed in me

Redemption

I thought redemption finally came
From prior sins and bad acts
But now I know I'm not paid up
For relief from this devil’s pact

No forgiveness, no act of contrition
No answer to my pleas
Not even begging for mercy
Contrite, on bended knees

The wounds that I have inflicted
Will keep me in this hell
And darkness will surround me
For as long as I can tell

The Safer Path

Reflection of the time I spent
Wandering this earth
No clear or true direction
That brought me here to this

Lost until I found you
No routes, no tracks, no course
Hopeless retrospection
Stumbling forward, fast

Times of indecision
Times of strife and woes
That was till I met you
And life was turned around

Now more steady, more direct
Future is more clear
Planning life together
A charted safer way

Your steady guidance saved me
And put me on the path
More safe, more sound, more protected
Sheltered, loved, secured

The wind it blows a billowy sail
Strait forward, on calm seas
Living in the moment
This romantic rhapsody

Guide me through the ocean storms
Protect and keep me safe
Leaning on your steadiness
No compass or sextant

Where were you before the storm
When my life was troubled
All I know is you’re here now
My world has turned around