Untitled

I look at this blank page,
untitled and clean.
My life was the same,
did I escape unseen?

I have seen sorrow and
I have felt pain.
I have felt much and loved more,
and knowledge I've gained.

My life sometimes sunshine
and sometimes full of gray.
Yet always, always choosing
to go on another day.

Life is for living,
a page not left blank.
Strength and will to go on,
the good Lord to thank.

Am I resilient,
or stronger than most?
Dead set on survival and
sometimes on "coast".

The "coast" is what saved me
when times got too hard.
When my life was in shambles
and laying in chars.

Now the future is clearer,
all my thanks to you.
Untitled no more,
starting once more, anew.

Borders

The borders now are blurry
The difference between right and wrong
Not as easy as it once was
Maybe I’m not as strong

Looking for some guidance
For the things I need to do
Praying for the answers
To play these problems through

Looking at solutions
From the way the past played out
How did I recover
And overcome the doubts

Hindsight 20/20
Future not as clear
Laying down the groundwork
To this I must adhere

Holding fast to my beliefs
The things that have proved true
Avoiding risk of failure
By sticking to the rules

Where is my guardian angel
When I need her most
I feel that I am on my own
Challenged by old ghosts

Combating the same old demons
Slowly I go forth
Resurrecting spirit
Protect me on my course

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

Discord

You always left me needing more
Disappointments by the score
Not the girl you wanted me to be
And I guess you weren’t the one for me

Another night of much discord
You walk out and slam the door
Don’t know how it came to this
What happened to the days of bliss

On the couch I sit and cry
While you're  out and on your drive
Mp3 is playing the blues
All the songs are me and you

There is no fix, there’s no way back
The marriage over, way off track
You know it and so do I
I guess it’s time to say goodbye

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

pull me closer

pull me closer, hold on real tight
don't let me disappear into the cold night
if I start to pull away, pull me closer

when I'm on the edge, pull me back
when I've lost my way, gone off track
when it all seems hopeless, all seems black
if I start to pull away, pull me closer

draw the line, make it straight
keep me from making a big mistake
shine your light, show my fate
if I start to pull away, pull me closer

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

shadows

the ceiling fan sweeps shadows
on all that used to be
I didn't loose any pieces
on what was left for me
tossing and turning; feigning sleep
but mostly, it won't come
it's not that I  am out of touch
but that I know too much

placid pictures, black and white
hanging on a wall
fading in the sunlight
now wading into fall
redemption rests on fluffy clouds
before the monsoon comes
and thunder sounds so loudly
inside a mind left numb

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

dormant

feelings come and feelings go
always leaving a mark
if only we could choose the ones
that stay locked in our hearts

I pushed it deep inside myself
but it still swims to the top
oozing like an open wound
and nothing makes it stop

I've turned my back and walked away
I've tried to tune it out
it spins me around and I always return
looking through all of the doubts

leave me, love me, stay or go
the choice is up to you
it seems my will has disappeared
cause you keep slipping through

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

enough

in a dark place
a light finally shines
and the peace it brings
revitalizes

like a full moon
on a dark night
like a monsoon rain
or a sweet refrain

it is enough
it is finally enough
what you give me to keep
is enough for me

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

we two

I hear your heart from the inside
wanting and loving me
I know what it sounds like
feels like
how it tastes

my heart vocalizes
the exact rhythm
audio music
to our ears
that only we two hear

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

keeper

you're my shelter from the things that harm
a cool breeze when the days are warm
a blanket on a real cold day
a knight who all my demons slayed

a comic when I'm feeling sad
serious, if something's really bad
when I get scared, you hold my hand
you always seem to understand

a spouse who loves through thick and thin
showing affection again and again
9 years together, 6 years wed
I am a keeper is what you said

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

forever

sounds like a long time
but for all this love I feel
it is way too short
Poetry by M.J.B. is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-Noncommercial-No Derivative Works 3.0 United States License

smiling tears

love waits quietly, watching from the wings
unexpectedly, pulling some strings
arranging it all or so it seems
I have experienced stranger things

tongue tied words, broken hearts
wanting it all after many false starts
boxed up resentment, not always smart
the things we do before we depart

I love you falls on starving ears
still we love, after all bad years
fasting long, feeding fears
happiness comes through smiling tears

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

you promise

you promise love
you promise truth
you promise more
than I’m used to
you promise hope
you promise joy
you promise what
was once destroyed
you promise honor
you promise me
all the things
I’ll ever need

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

given and recieved

feelings from down deep
swimming to the surface
like so many fish in a stream

how can I hold back?
not show what there is
not give what I have

my heart unlocked
my spirit revived
my passion set free

a treasure revealed
a gift of love
given and received

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

Mama Bird Haiku Update

Mama built a nest
Papa bird came to visit
wow, how sweet is that?

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

foreign stars

will you miss me now?
thoughts of me before you sleep
under foreign stars

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

Innocuous

Caught in the middle
A quagmire, too dense to read
Options not readily available

One road is true, protected, innocuous
The other obscure, ambiguous, a conundrum
Do I take one of these roads, or go back?

I know what is behind, where I’ve been
The easy path, no rough trails back then
The sun was at my back, no forks in the road

I am propelled forward by a force stronger than me
I am not pulled in other direction
The journey is mine, the decision mine

I am stumbling, blindly and apprehensively
This feeling, a new concept that betrays me
And leaves me dismayed and demoralized

I know I can’t stay here, in the middle
There is nothing here, nothing behind, only forward
There will be no going back and I will not cower here

So I continue, headlong into what?
Either into harmony, peace, repose
Or into dissension, disappointment, disbelief

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

what we have

you make it so easy
every little thing you do
falling hard was simple
when I fell in love with you
you'd say it was nothing
from the path you didn't sway
I'd say it was more than that
that brought us all this way

rough around your edges
unlucky in love you said
that's not how I saw you
there's no rocky roads ahead
no, you made it easy
He put you in my path
nothing left behind us
is worth more than what we have

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

Auto Pilot

Flying on auto pilot
Solo for too long
No need for a co-pilot
My navigation’s strong

Reaching for new altitudes
How high can I go
I have no fear of flying
I just use what I know

But now I’m hitting turbulence
My skills are being tested
Even an ace pilot
Can sometimes be bested

Tighten the shoulder harness
Flip the little switch
I’m off of auto pilot
And leveling off the pitch

The craft is really shaking
Control is very tough
Using my experience
I hope it is enough

And now I see the airport
The landing strip in sight
The turbulence is over
At least for this one flight

dial my number

you used to call me darlin
you called me sweetheart too
now you never call me
what am I to do

I'm missing your sweet loving
I'm missing your deep voice
I'm missing everything about you
so make my heart rejoice

hey baby dial my number
let me hear your special ring
I know you can't forget me
my love is beckoning

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

aftermath

the whisper of your words
as they tangle in my hair
the evening slipping away
the passion resting there

the shadows in the room
hidden in your lover's lair
truth on the tip of a tongue
a heart which won't be spared

the morning dawning red
a caution for the sea
a storm is about to come
while you shake yourself free

and as you lay it down
your eyes looking through me
my love an apparition
something you don't need

go ahead and turn your back
it's what you always do
how many times I've been here
as we tried to work it through

my heart is once more bleeding
another casuality in your path
another walking wounded
in the hazy aftermath

this time no surrender
when I find you at my door
no white flag or welcome back
this time you lost the war

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

love blooms

with tender hands and a green thumb
you plant the many seeds of love
fertilizing the rich, black soil
an act of love at which you toil

putting my heart in indirect sun
watering daily what we've begun
from deep inside it begins to bloom
a fragrant flower with deep, deep roots


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

RAJ

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

canoe (JPB)

we put the canoe in
the river, like glass
sun high and hot
a perfect Midwest day

push off, catching our rhythm
harmonizing the oars
smooth teamwork
not our first time

we laugh and talk
just kicking back
reconnecting, remembering
it’s been a long time

we know what’s ahead
white water and rocks
and our favorite part,
the drop from the falls

we work as a team
maneuvering together
expert synchronicity
through the treacherous water

this perfect day
the thrill of the danger
this time we share
a new memory

back at the shore
we load the canoe
you look at me and smile
an amazing afternoon

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

the end

I push past the ache, some of the pain
remember the words, not the refrain
cadence lost with most of the care
remembrance buried cause you weren't there

deep in a heart, no longer longing
packed with the things that were so wrong
listening for songs to be sung on the wind
not for beginnings--signaling the end

you probably think this is all about you
a nightingale song from out of the blue
dispirited words that surprised you to know
long after denial, and after the glow

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

Release

Like a loaded weapon
The trigger, ready for release
Waiting for a target
Tension to decrease

All my love and passion
Feelings in my heart
Searching for one person
That can hit the mark

Searching, never finding
Mind and soul waits in unrest
I will find you somehow
To this I can attest

I am waiting for you
Look harder you will find
Everything you’re looking for
Before me you were blind

Come and find your future
Unlock this closed up door
Liberate this aching heart
My essence to restore

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