Off Track

This candle is burning at both ends
Pulled in too many directions
My spirit is waning

So tired I want to rest
Can’t sleep when I do
finally laying down

Too many questions
racing through my head
Decisions to be made

Praying for guidance
A sentinel to keep watch
Protection from errors

The path has too many bends
Too many boulders in the road
No bridge to cross the river

Did I make the wrong turn?
How did I get off track?
No answers come!

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

Poetry In Motion

I filed away the hurt and tears
I filed away the pain
I filed away the destruction left
There was nothing left to gain

I wanted to believe in you
And all the promises made
Things that you’re not capable of
A heart that wasn't displayed

Maybe I'm the one to blame
For giving you more chances
Past history showed a pattern
Should have studied, not have glanced

Knowing you is not a loss
Sweet memories remain
You were poetry in motion
And that’s what I retain

Back to where I started
But smarter going forth
Separate the mind from heart
For all that this is worth

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

designer cowgirl

hey, what are you doin there missy
yeah you, standin in that space
leanin there in your stetson
lookin about this place

do ya think that you fit in here
why did you even stop in
to hang out with real cowgirls
to see how the other half lives

your boots are probably Manolo
must have cost you alot
look around here sweety
that’s something we ain’t got

you’re standin there against the bar
an umbrella drink in your hand
lookin at all our cowboys
listenin to our cowboy band

your hand made shirt is perfect
those jeans, are probably Prada
we’re lookin at you in our Wranglers
knowin we ain’t got nada

no one will approach you
don’t ya feel kind of strange
you ain’t got no friends here
it’s like you dropped from outer space

sure the cowboys are lookin at ya
never seen one quite like you
but they know you’ll only use em
and toss em when you’re through

do you think this is “Urban Cowboy”
and John Travolta is here
I don’t think so sweetheart
you better get on out of here

if you’re lookin for a skirt fight
I think I can help you with that
me and my friends are willin
to put you on your ass

your hair won’t look so pretty
your Dior makeup will be a mess
is that what you’re lookin for princess
yeah, I can help you with that

you’ll probably break a nail or two
before the fight is through
you’ll be lucky to crawl of here
when we are done with you

go on home to daddy
get in your porshe and drive away
I’ll forget you were even in here
just don’t come back this way


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

Heart vs Mind

My heart says move slowly
Don’t rush into it
Think it through

My mind says go
Engage, connect, conquer
Do what it takes

My heart is pure and uncomplicated
Willing to love and be loved
But not to be broken

My mind enjoys the quest
The innuendo and the excitement
The heightening passion

Which do I listen to?
A heart that has never steered me wrong
Or a mind that moves to fast, overlooking consequences

I am going into this with my eyes wide open
My heart will need to endure
The havoc and aftermath that my mind creates

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

Same Chapter, Same Verse

It’s the underlying currents
As the tension slowly builds
The talk and innuendo
At this we’re pretty skilled

It’s the meaning of the song we sing
Only we can understand
We knew it from the very start
It’s working as we planned

It’s being on the same page
Same chapter and same verse
That makes it all so easy
There’s nothing to rehearse

It’s picking up where we left off
Never losing time or place
The time that passes in between
Doesn’t leave a  hollow space

It’s saying what is on our minds
In ways we comprehend
No interfaces needed
There’s nothing to transcend

It’s the benefit of this bond we share
This friendship that we’ve found
This link that we’ve created
That makes this friendship sound

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

a circle that still grows

we were lookin’ for a good time
but what we found was more
found a basis for friendship
which kind of surprised us both

I have chosen those around me
the ones I do revere
I’m glad that you are one of them
a circle that continues to grow

I can lay it on the line to you
I know judgement won't be shown
all deep secrets and regrets
the frustrations, anger and joy

“no one needs to go it alone”
according to what Bono says
on this one he has hit the mark
we all need those we can trust

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

Lifelines

Standing on the sidelines
Following the guidelines
Setting up some baselines
To guide me through the lifelines

It won't always be fine
Sometimes there are blurred lines
It's not like I can design
Love that will last a lifetime

Writing stuff that should rhyme
While I seem to be primed
Hearing clocks that won't chime
Because the hands hold much grime

A world that spends on a dime
Black and white like a mime
Out from under I climb
Like I was guilty of crime

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

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