shell marker

solitude and celestial light
reflections of most recent strife
I bury in sand with a shell marker
leave it there in shallow, salty water

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

neon lights

nowhere in the neon lights
does it say hold on for your dear life
we grab the bridle and dig our heels in
bouncing around as it kicks and spins

you sit in the diner--it's near midnight
you can see the damnedest sights
stirring your coffee trying not to stare
at what's in here or hiding out there

we can never quite let go
holding on till hell freezes over
witticism only takes you so far
miles roll fast when you're in your car

the bitter tolls and burdens of sins
the fences we build that keep us in
begging to be misunderstood
as you turn your back and leave for good

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

ghost card

you hold one in your heart
keeping one on a string
you feed one half-truths
the other knows things

what little they know
what you think they believe
you hide it so well
your character, it seems

as you dance with them both
a large shadow you leave
and the love that you share
is framed with deceit

look in the mirror
a reflection that's black
a love based on lies
will eventually crack

when you look at her photo
love coursing through your veins
remember what you said
the ghost card remains

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

inside the frame

in my thoughts where daylight dances
with my hopes and some missed chances
in this dream of scented surrender
lavender ideas, honey embers

the camera lens captures it all
reconnecting large and small
it falls in place inside the frame
ashes float from burning flames

I will sing this song of when
lyrics written of all there in
on this sheet the words bleed red
bonding us with crimson thread

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

Annie Oakley

a little girl with braids a-flyin
a stick pony without a head
righting the wrongs of childhood
when others didn't play along

I rope my brother, tie him down
make him the bad guy, make him frown
he's not that happy, playin my game
Annie Oakley, runs away
before he can tell mom

I grew up, put Annie aside
forgot about her for a very long time
now that I go to the range and shoot
Annie has returned
once again to right the wrongs
Annie has returned

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

third degree burn

sunglasses protect deep green eyes
Aer Lingus cap shades a fair, Irish nose
SPF 50, slathered generously, for my skin
warding off the sun’s bright, harmful rays

my heart, protected by the strong bones of the chest wall,
layers of dermis, and by my swimsuit top
survives not so well, and   
blisters with a third degree burn

silent shore

on this silent shore
I stand at the edge of you
making these dreams of you real
can I push you over the edge?
did I push it over the end?
how much time can I spend?
I keep returning, back for more
I find you waiting at my heart's door
far inside your walls, I call
how much time can I spend?
till I've pushed love over the end



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

what remains

we find faith in what is true
the way things always change
keeping all from what remains
and part like two old friends

it will be like time stood still
if the trail should carry us back
meeting again after time has passed
a friendship with solid footing

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

in between

there's a song that I hear
lyrics stuck in my soul
playing over and over
I don't know all the words
but I do know the tune
I guess I'll learn them as I go

it's a song about chance
of buried hopes and dreams
of mountain sun and evening rain
a song about love, living, dying
about all that falls in between

right now I hum it in my head
memorizing, harmonizing
a constant white noise that drives me
I don't know all the words
but I do know the tune
yet, there is no singer here

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

molecular cohesion

I waited, long, for your sweet song
you seem to be where I belong
or is it an illusion

come from my dreams into loving arms
fall seductive, to my charms
love's molecular cohesion

don't let it be our time has passed
a fantasy that burned too fast
a hazy apparition

I wait to follow
fill the hollow
two heart's conversation

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

snap

I lay it down
echoes cross the line
addressing things
you thought were fine
the connection snaps
I can't go back
only forward
it is too late
what you created
is heavily weighted
the dam breaks
heartache pouring over
drowning what was left

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

treasure

yesterday's treasure, soon forgotten
packed away in a minuscule box
not as faceted as once thought
on a shelf now gathering dust
another trinket now misplaced
sparkling less as it all fades

memories that once meant much
now that need has long since gone
wipe away the cobwebbed songs
forgotten lines and sing song tunes
all I ever thought of you
shattered shades of dark dark blue

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

double-edged words

wielding, slashing releasing my wrath
rhyming prose my double-edged hack
releasing all this pent-up anger
directed at my own weaknesses

berating, lambasting where it seethes
even though I saw, I failed to see
with every withdrawal and your repose
a shield you use that causes my blows

the sweetest gift you could have left
this one I use to pen and reflect
the only one who has let me down
is the one in the mirror staring back

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

dreams

she wove the clouds into a gossamer lace
trapping her love there forever
tending, rendering all of her heart
to one whose thoughts were barren

sighing, crying, realizing
that it was not to be
erasing, debasing what once was
she set her lover free
Poetry by M.J.B. is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-Noncommercial-No Derivative Works 3.0 United States License

AWOL (absent without love)

"He went over the hill, Sergeant."
"Are you sure, did you search the barracks?"
"Yes, only personal possessions are missing.
Photographs, cd's...that kind of stuff."
"File the reports, Private."
"I was so sure this one had the right stuff,
Sergeant, and would go the distance."
"There is no such thing, as a sure thing.
You should know that by now!"
"What should I do with what is left?"
"Box it and trash it. Anything left behind will not be missed"

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

once

once, from high in the mountains
your song rained down on me
drops splattering my soul

I got lost in the fantasy, thoughts
of you tied with fragile spun dreams
bound by the depth of your love

unlacing the ribbon, you look within
with tenderness, you take my heart
uniting it with yours

now, this love blooms, flowers strewn
nourished by the rain and sun
in the valley inside

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

Worry

It serves no purpose
Helps not my thought
Wondering  about resolve
All the while,
My stomach in knots
What will be; is
 
Poetry by M.J.B. is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-Noncommercial-No Derivative Works 3.0 United States License

addiction

and so it begins....
my withdrawal from an addiction
that causes so much pain,
frustration and confusion
as I bounce off
of these barbed-wire walls
I know I am strong enough
to finally break free

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

amber ambiguity

in amber ambiguity
how sweetly it unravels
till there is nothing left behind
just the weeded path I traveled

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

befuddled

in the middle it all muddles
like warm milk that is curdled
once it cuddled all soft and swaddled
no longer a rhyme, no, more a riddle
a heart that somehow becomes rattled
a canoe adrift without the paddles
a bucking horse without a saddle
a losing team that needs a huddle
in the midst a great big puddle
seems it was always a losing battle
it just moans with its death rattle
all of this leaving me befuddled

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

addendum

I had forgotten...
the sweet smells
lilacs in full bloom
freshly mowed grass
tulips and roses in bloom
springtime in the Midwest
the smells of childhood return
and the comforts I had left behind

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

fluent

in sarcasm I am fluent
it rolls glibly off my tongue
metaphors tumble freely about
like windows and sliding doors
sometimes I get in trouble
cause my answers are just too flip
that is the reason I write
I can always delete it!

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

fire

stoke this fire
that continues to burn
with every dance
with every word
keep it hot
let the embers fly
igniting all
that is close by
dance near my flame
touch this heat
keep it burning
feed this need

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

silver lining

I guess the silver lining
is that I learn humility
once more I forgive
love falls at your feet
roping with your lariat
more than you'll ever need

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

black knight

glorious is your victory
no prisoners do you take
as the notches keep getting deeper
with each heart that you break
on every single battlefield
in the midst of the moonlight
the black knight is still standing
as he captures the flag of white
the dying and the wounded
suffering from shell-shock
and he turns the golden key
on a heart that remains locked

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