before your eyes

you withdraw more
than you put in
overdrawn now
yet once again
checks and balance
just won't solve
red lines, black numbers
slowly dissolve

the statement here
before your eyes
columns long
materialize
many equations
that don't add up
to what you pour
into your cup

shake your head
and start again
adding now
with paper and pen
that's when you finally
realize
the truth that's here
before your eyes

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

Symmetry

The words you have given me
worth more than flowers
Flowers wilt and die
words are permanently etched

Engraved in my memory forever
The way they were expressed
The sound of your voice or written by hand
Touching me deep in my soul

Like prose or lyrics
The symmetry and balance of your words
Touch in ways hands can’t
Wouldn’t know how

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

Happy Ending

Write me a happy ending
Add balance to this life
Someone to come home to
My life could use more spice

Write me a happy ending
At the end of a long day
A glass of wine and loving
Things your eyes conveyed

Write me a happy ending
With passion, desire and trust
Take me to nirvana
I miss it very much

Write me a happy ending
Let’s build a life to share
Massage my mind and body
Show how much you care

Write me a happy ending
The rest is pretty balanced
Share the things I offer
A life of luminance

Write me a happy ending
A happily ever after
It’s the one thing that I’m missing
I need this one last chapter

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

Indecision

Trapped here in a nightmare
On a one way street
Alone, afraid and anxious
Nothing here concrete

No way out of this here maze
All paths lead the same way
Each one worse than the one before
Much to my dismay

Hopeless indecision
Which road do I take
Afraid to proceed forward
Afraid of a mistake

Show me the way onward
The safe and truer course
Guide me through the challenges
The one with no remorse

No answers are forthcoming
Nothing to keep me safe
Relying on my knowledge
To lead me from this place

Following my instincts
The ones that are instilled
To find my true direction
And a better future build

Protect and lead me safely
To God above I pray
Help me find the path I seek
Do not lead me astray

A feeling of security
My sentinel is here
A light in the cold darkness
Salvation now is near

Thanks for the help given
Illumination clear
A guardian to save me
Refuge now is here

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

Words Spoken

He said “I’ll see you tomorrow”
She responds “yes, you will”
He smiles at her back as she walks away
She hums to herself as she leaves

But tomorrow is an uncertainty
Seconds that turn to minutes
Minutes of wasted time
Hours that once gone can never be retrieved

He calls her just as she is getting into her car
“I forgot to tell you I love you” he says
“I love you too” she replies
“I want you to take that with you” he responds

She takes the words spoken
Puts them in her heart
And turns the key
Locking them inside forever

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

My Heart Cries

My heart cries
The chance ripped from me
The rug pulled from my feet

My heart cries
From the things that you said
When you left me

My heart cries
For the touch
I no longer feel

My heart cries
My mind in turmoil
Because you left

My heart cries
My hopes dashed
Spirit broken

My heart cries
The candle snuffed
Prayers unanswered

My heart cries
The sun falls from my sky at day
Stars blotted with clouds at night

My heart cries
For what will never be
For what can never happen

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

Light My Way

With darkness all around me
I try to find a way out
To no avail

Trapped inside this longing
Like a small animal in a cage
Hoping for rescue

Lost in the darkness
Yearning for answers
None come forth

My heart bleeds
My soul is torn
My spirit broken and raw

Come and find me
Save me from this pain
Light my way

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

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.