black and white

a dream I wake tasting
thoughts lingering
when the sun rises

realistic images
graphic details
virtual love

subconscious
playing tricks on a
vulnerable heart

the dream black and white
technicolor fading
long ago

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

miles

a distance that grows
dreams drifting further away
distance not in miles

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

canvass

paint on this canvass
in the pale lunar glow
let me feel what you feel
in soft, tender strokes

paint on this canvass
paint with your heart
a masterpiece of love
a true work of art

paint on this canvass
with each touch of your hand
learning the nuance
each brush-stoke commands

paint on this canvass
paint with your heart
each color has meaning
each stroke a new start

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

I'll find my way

this road winds around
and it is long
unpaved, unmarked
with twists and turns
over burned out bridges
dust settling on my path
but I'll find my way
it will take some time
I'll find my way
without any maps
I'll find my way
I have to do it by myself
I'll find my way back

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

just get it right

just let it happen
just let yourself go
just see what's next
just see if it grows

don’t stop the feeling
don’t close your heart
don’t close your mind
don’t stop a fresh start

if the feelings are there
if the timing is right
if you want it to be
if you just get it right

don’t turn away
don’t think of the past
don’t close the door
don’t think it can't last

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

just about now

just about now
you wonder where it went
what could have lasted longer
a shell casing that's been spent

just about now
you start to sort it out
the fault was not with you
self- importance hasn't doubt

just about now
you have no regret
as you move forward
one less fret

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

veneer

my facade has cracks
you chipping the smooth veneer
that one time protects

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

do you

do you have regrets
unsaid things that you forget
chapters of love unread
poetry in your head

do you close your eyes
remembering my sighs
thinking back on a first kiss
a love that you still miss

do you sleep alright
alone in bed at night
all that we once shared
evaporated in thin air

do you long for yesterday
a lover held at bay
the embers now grey ash
when your heart looks back

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

sudden clarity

as the thunder cracks
limbs snapped from trees
lightning strikes my world
illuminating clarity

it all boils to the top
my subconscious spilling doubts
everything that's been hidden
now turning inside out

it rages on internally
tumultuous rain pours down
soaking but not cleansing
as I silently drowned

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

Innocent Age

Just a kid playing on the beach
Days were long, a lifetime ahead
Played until the sun would set
Building endless castles of sand

Time speeds by, those days are gone
One day you’re a kid, the next day grown
Building castles of a different kind
Some are tangible, some in my mind

Wish I had bottled that age gone by
When life was easy with less concerns
The older I get the more I yearn
For uncomplicated times of days long past

We can’t go back, the memories fade
Buried and replaced by an older age
Careers, a mortgage, too many bills
Braces, little league and endless lists

We can't recapture the way it felt
That euphoric short lived time of youth
Try as we might, it just can't be
The bottle breaks and time escapes

And as my kids play on the beach
I remember me at this innocent age
A glimpse of the way life used to be
Of what makes me who I am today

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

do you ever get tired?

do you ever get tired?
tired of solving all the problems
tired of having all the answers

do you ever get tired?
tired of the mind games
tired of the puzzles

do you ever get tired?
tired of the same old thing
tired of the redundancy

do you ever get tired?
tired of thinking out of the box
tired of thinking big picture

do you ever get tired?
tired of listening
tired of tuning in

do you ever get tired?
tired of the complexities
tired of the weight

do you ever get tired?
tired of doing it alone
tired of no safety net

do you ever get tired?
tired of the shifting rules
tired of the shifting sands

do you ever get tired?

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

very good start

I'm not jumping in
I'm taking it slow
gonna savor it all
with the afterglow

peel back my layers
discover what's inside
a blossom that opens
with nothing denied

locking you in
a special place in my heart
what you've uncovered
is a very good start

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

seas of green

between murky dreams
and seas of moss green
my life spins fast
without moonbeams
sands of red from the
hopes that have bled
into the ocean
drowning instead

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

enough

it's enough for now
you give what you can
it's enough for now
there's no master plan
I'll take what you give
give back what I can
it's enough for now
it's enough for now

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

framed

I object your honor
please let me state my case
all of this you're ruling on
is not how it's portrayed

before you deem me guilty
you, and a jury of my peers
let me bring further evidence
of how I landed here

what? too late you tell me?
you can't see that I was framed?
my heart gets sent to prison
and I take all of the blame

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

affairs of the heart

build it tall
watch me fall
indifference met
a shadowed wall

love that sings
from deep heartstrings
a single note
a deafening ring

affairs of the heart
painted, abstract art
a disappearing act
as it departs

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

run

what doesn't destroy me, better run
head for the hills, hide and stay
I am stronger than you might think
one way or another you will pay

don't crush my spirit, dampen my soul
don't toy with danger or you will know
not to be trifled with, not to be used
if you think that you better go

turn about is still fair game
karma's a bitch and comes around
heed this warning, remember now
I'll get you after I calm down

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

Strange Haiku

I do find it strange
The way things start; ramble on
And abruptly end

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

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