Playing By The Rules

I can read between the lines
Much more astute than some
This pretty package has a brain
And will not easily succumb

There is a lot that’s left unsaid
Or the answers don’t suffice
I wasn’t just born yesterday
You must be more precise

What is it that you’re hiding?
What is up your sleeve?
Do you think that I don’t notice?
This is bordering on deceit

I don’t play by all the rules
This surface has not been scratched
Look closer at what you’re toying with
I think you’ve met your match

So if you want to fence with me
Draw your sword and take your stance
I’ll be your best opponent
You'll have a sporting chance

Do you want to play this game?
Or do you want a truce?
I can play it either way
But I think that you must choose

I will not fall down at your feet
Won’t hang on every word
You aren’t saying anything
I haven’t already heard

There are plenty out there
Who will fall for all your lines
But baby, I’m not one of them
It’s a total waste of time

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

transform me

transform me
turn my head
turn me around

I will follow your lead
guide me
show me the way

pick me up
hold me in your arms
engulf me in your embrace

shelter me
protect me from harm
be my safe haven

transform me

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

my angel

guardian angel
looks at me in amazement
and thinks what the hell

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

Dilemma

Lessons learned the hard way
The ones that hurt the most
The hardest to get out of
The ones that leave a ghost

You think that it is handled
Finally laid to rest
Then the problem reappears
An even bigger test

A dilemma that takes too much time
Haunts you day and night
Wanting to eradicate
Erase this horrific blight

Careful of the plan you choose
The one that works the best
To achieve the goal you’re looking for
One that won’t be contested

Just proceed with caution
Situation dire
Weigh the consequences
Vigilance is required

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

Adam and Eve

From the first bite of the apple
Back to Adam and Eve
Starting all the dilemmas
Poor Adam was deceived

All the innuendo
The loving and the lust
Adam was way too trusting
Her agenda was unjust

Tossed out of the garden
Made to find their way
Side stepping all the evils
Once he was led astray

Still the perils that they faced
They did it hand in hand
I guess Adam forgave Eve
They still had their promise land!

(So the woman eats and gives to the man who also eats: Genesis)

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

By The Sea

The sand is cool
The sun is hot
I’m laying on the beach

My mind is clear
My soul at rest
My spirit, calm

The sea rolls
The gulls swoop
The dolphins play in the surf

I love these days
Spent by the sea
Relaxed, refreshed, rejuvenated

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

missing me

I hope that you are  missing me
memories that you still see
everywhere you turn or look
that is where I’ll try to be

you can’t speak or feel the words
that leave you here undisturbed
even though I've turned and gone
it’s still what I haven’t heard

the utterance of misplaced love
something that you won’t speak of
although that’s how you say you feel
way deep down it's piled and shoved

all of this has become clear
now that I’m no longer near
do you sit there, wonder and wait
for me to once more reappear

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

blue

the blues hang heavy outside my door
the perfume smells of rain
I know this feeling, that leaves me reeling
was hoping it'd never come again

I've never learned to temper love
I've never held anything back
loving you came far too easy
there was nothing that this heart lacked

one little comment. very few words
derails the dream I held
trust slips like the Mack truck gears
negotiating a steep hill

maybe you were just too tired
Lord knows your plate is full
maybe it's the way you feel
and all the rest was bull

it doesn't matter how it started
I've landed in that old spot
not far enough from that old place
for this feeling I've never forgot

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

gps

can't pronounce street names
but that gal gets me around
recalculating

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

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.