inside

in the depths of your smile
I see happiness and joy
in the twinkle of your eyes
I see promise and fun
inside your soul
I see sincerity and safety
inside your heart
I see all need

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

Life In The Fast Lane

Living in the fast lane
No time to slow down
I like it crazy

Always moving quickly
I push the envelope
Not going to change

Making decisions on the cuff
Always works out right
I am lucky

Got to keep it rolling
Don’t want to change
You need to keep up

Roll with the changes
Change is good
At least for me!

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

I thought I knew you

your thoughts and feelings
but the feelings aren’t for me
erroneous slip

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

Let Me

In our very special place
You give your love to me
Shaking the very core of my existence

The way you touch me
Mind, body, soul
Fortifies me

The way you know what I need
Is miraculous and astounding
You amaze me

Let me do these things for you
Let me complete you
As you complete me

about me

some would say that I'm aloof
remaining silently detached
some things I've said
or things I've done
I wish I could retract

lightning blazes across dark sky
silver linings sometime fray
thunder shakes the atmosphere
before it starts a drenching rain

they follow me on facebook
on twitter they subscribe
they read my every thought and word
to see what's on my mind

poetry that often flows
bitter are some lines
haiku express with shorten verbs
of  other fun filled times

I used to read into every verse
looking for mentions of me
I should have known indifference
would cause the wounds to bleed

follow me in confusion
I know the only truth
what I pen, beginning to end
is more about me than you

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

retreat

too blind to see the obvious facts
as I push them all into my backpack
without a look or sideways glance
I move forward, away from this dance

painfully putting them all away
burying deep, this time to stay
no more hoping, wishes foreign
from this heart now tattered and torn

around the corner, down the street
you head forward, there's no retreat
sensing moods now gray and dark
those splintered words
that breach your heart
Poetry by M.J.B. is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-Noncommercial-No Derivative Works 3.0 United States License

shooting star

saw a shooting star
burning bright in the night sky
too quick for a wish

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

Not Trying

I’m not trying to take you
Where you don’t want to go
Not trying to make you feel
Something you don’t

I’m not trying to confuse
The thoughts in your mind
My feelings not a puzzle
They are clear and defined

I’m not trying to sway
Your heart towards me
When you’ve already said
We can never be

I’m not trying to move you
To a future where there’s none
But if you looked deeply
You’ll see there is one

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

Things

Laying by the ocean
Sands so smooth and white
Staring at a cloudless sky
Contemplating life

Thinking of the things I’ve said
And things I left undone
Things I should have started
Things to be begun

Maybe I’ll just stay here
Resting on the shore
Just let life care for itself
No worries anymore

Truth

I looked into your blue eyes
To see if there was truth
To see the way you really feel
To understand your mood

You veiled your eyes to shield me
Thought that I wouldn’t see
What you were about to tell me
Was not how it should be

Trying to protect me
Though you will break me heart
Telling me what I want to hear
Instead of tearing me apart

Your blue eyes can not save me
From what we know is true
That maybe we weren’t meant to be
And I am not for you

So just go on pretending
Covering up the lies
Hoping I won’t see it
The lie in your blue eyes

stories

tell me a story
you say with a grin
I'm making one up
as you settle in
no interruptions
not one word from you
and a duck and a car
is what soon imbrues
you smile your smile
and never once stir
now tell me another
and again I concur
two or three stories
your eyes start to close
your head on my shoulder
as you quietly dose
holding you tightly
my heart filled with joy
at the pleasures I'm sharing
with this little boy

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

Brilliant Disguise

My brilliant disguise
What I want you to see
Only that

I can’t show you everything
There is too much
Hidden away

Take what I show you
Love me for that
Nothing else

nothing left

for everything you’ve given
you’ve take twice as much
always about you

worn down and tired
of trying to give you all
I have nothing left

the tears have dried
there are no more to cry
finally

I need to step up
take control of my heart
block you from my mind

someday you will see
that you lost a lot
when you lost me

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

Things We Take For Granted

Waking up each morning

A cool breeze on a warm day

The warm sun after weeks of cold weather

A night sky full of stars

The kindness of stangers

An excellent bottle of wine

Really good coffee in the morning

Waking up next to someone you love

A child's laughter

Each other

Our children and our children's children

Love

The future

Life

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

Luck

However did you find me?
A stoke of just pure luck
You knew I needed finding
It was that note you struck

You took the room required
There was a lot of space
Not much rearranging
Just holes that were replaced

You knew the things I wanted
You gave with an open heart
Not much effort needed
You saw that from the start

You grace my life with loving
The strength and peace I require
You ask for nothing in return
It’s me that you desire

You put me back together
Restored all that was lost
Gave me back my blue sky
With each new day that dawns

No matter how you found me
Thanks for all you gave
Rendering a life renewed
A heart that needed saved

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

the valley

The valley was not always green like the name implied. During the hot summer months and in between the months of monsoon, my soul would dry and crack like the deep desert washes that surrounded the small little town.MJB

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

garbage

I've got it all together
that's the way it seems
inside my shoe
my sock slips down
and it is bugging me
I just grin and bare it
no one will ever know
when I get home
they're coming off
and in the garbage they go

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

days pass

as I pass by
I smell the fragrant odor
from the glass vase

different hues
some bright, some pale
leaves of the darkest green

but the days pass
the colors fade
and the blossoms fall

and now they are dead
petals on the table
wilted and brown

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

Best Time Of The Day

In the stillness of the evening
Quiet and serene
Sitting on my patio
Enjoying this peaceful scene

We talk about the trivial things
Over a glass of wine
Nothing important or pressing
Nothing crucial on our minds

This is the best time of the day
We share it just us two
Lost in our surroundings
A love that’s strong and true

Loving, peaceful moments
Moments that we share
Savoring the best in life
All because you are here

Long Past

A beauty in her younger years
But that has started to fade
The strife and pain of long ago
Written across her face

Fingers bent and painful
Hands with lines and veins
From years of tending those she loved
Scars are all that remain

The days have not been kind to her
Each decade beat her down
Those she loved have left her
None are left around

Waking up each morning
Each longer as she ages
Loneliness surrounds her
Unexpected in this phase

Remembering how it used to be
Longing for the days long past
When she loved and it was returned
Something she can’t get back

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

Darkness Lifts

When the darkness lifts
that surrounds my soul
and the light shines on me

When the heavens send
a cleansing rain
to wash my soul clean

When the fog dissipates
from the warmth of the sun
and I am again restored

Only then can I finally move on
leaving this broken spirit
and broken heart behind me

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

I Am Here

When you are feeling lost
Don’t know which way to turn
I am here

When you are frustrated
And need a sounding board
I am here

When you just need someone to turn to
To listen without judging
I am here

When you need to unwind
After another long day
I am here

When you need soothing
A gentle touch
I am here

When you are cold to the bone
And need warmth
I am here

When you want arms to hold you
A shoulder on which to lay your head
I am here

When you want to be loved
Completely
I am here

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

sleepwalking

I’m testing the waters
that are very deep
are you letting me drown
or teaching me to swim?

you draw me in
like a moth to flame
so close to the heat
that could be my end

and yet I’m still here
with the questions that remain
my hallucinating mind
where all is crystal clear

if I open my eyes
will it all be reality
will you disappear
like smoke into the clouds?

I’m afraid to know the truth
but the vagueness is far worse
sleepwalking in this love affair
what happens when I wake

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

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.