no avail

like a hamster on a wheel
I spin and turn to get nowhere
the end is the beginning
the beginning is the end
around and around and around I spin

I move forward...you step back
too many times I've done this dance
glad I'm not afraid of heights
from ups and downs and sleight of hand
movements I don't understand

all the balls kept in the air
expertly, you keep them there
my proverbial hamster wheel
spins and turns to no avail

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

undone

you had made up your mind
to leave it all behind
but you left some things undone
when the time came for you to run

there was nothing left in that place
that could make you want to stay
the ties that kept you there
never answered by your prayers

so you traveled to the West
to scenery that you loved best
trying to start again
rebuild and make new friends

you could never shake your past
a monkey on your back
the things you left undone
in your dreams a constant rerun

so you go back one last time
face the jurors for your crimes
the sentence you can't bear
you should have left it there

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

let's love

like a bull out of the shoot
it bucks you around
shakes you up
spins your world round
you may never get your feet
back on the ground
but yeehaw baby, let's love

as you are holding on
for all you are worth
and there's your heart
trampled in the dirt
grab on to me, hold on tight
get back on, again to ride
yeehaw baby, let's love

keep on trying
to make the odds even
keep on fighting
keep on believing
get back on
keep on tweakin it
yeehaw baby, let's love

switching to diet

around and around and around it spins
hitting the bottom not bottoming out
just when I think it's done for good
up to the top it all bubbles again

the effervescence with all of the fizz
I thought was flat, without the cap
I guess it doesn't work out that way
it tickles my nose when it's going in

the taste, so sweet as I drink it down
I feel the burn like Coke in my throat
I'm switching to Zero, that's all there is
it still tastes good without any pounds

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

yuk

wheezing, sneezing allergies
about to get the best of me
puffy eyes and they tear
I think I need some benadryl
cause the freeze didn't cure my ills

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

beginnings

I swore not ever,
never again
would I allow
just more than friends
things were thin
then you walked in
making it start
and my mind spin
a hollow sound
in a heart of tin
ruptures my love
and so we begin

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

one more time

questions burn
pages turn
still some secrets
I must learn

behind, our past
don't look back
nothing there
but smoke and ash

still, the dreams
my mind screams
waylaid answers
I get it seems

in between
crisp, fresh sheets
love starts over
for you and me

one more time
it's all fine
still I wonder
if your heart's mine

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

Cupid

this time Cupid's aim
his arrow straight and piercing
dead-on through my heart

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

all

I can give you all
serve you heaven on a plate
that is just a start

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

by candlelight

romance, candles, wine
all of these you do not need
yet, my heart still flips

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

love is like this

like monsoon falling on the desert sand
it blows in quick--never like you planned
the rug pulled out from where you stand
you're just not sure how you will land

love is like this--always a surprise
never quite like you had surmised
right before your very eyes
it's like a hidden Cracker Jack prize

you can search both high and low
looking in the hearts of friend and foe
maybe it's someone you didn't know
that lights, the fire that makes you glow

light my fire...stoked high and hot
bring back the love that I forgot
each petal--loves me, loves me not
this is the true one that I sought

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

should I

should I have spelled it all out
wrote it plainly on a wall
should I have been more honest
with what I hold within
should I have given you more
of all the things I truly feel
should I have said
I love you
and would it have,
could it have,
made a difference

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

no boundaries

generous the gift
no boundaries that define
lavish is your love

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

letting it be

the sun rose in the mountains
pushing past red clouds of dawn
I watch with coffee--my day begins
as the nightingale hushed its song

darkness fades and light reflects
on the pool of deepest blue
the softest smile upon my face
remembering the swim with you

quiet and peaceful I reflect
on all you bring to me
my heart swells where our love dwells
thanking God for letting it be

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

the wonder of it all

I can give you love through WiFi
hit the send and let it fly
see it post upon your wall
oh, the wonder of it all

I watch the jibjab that you made
in my email I hit save
laughing at the cartoon me
nothing funnier I believe

by the sea I draw in sand
thinking not, nor with a plan
when I finish what I started
initials wrapped inside a heart

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

the love of the West

a hat a cowboy doesn't make
even a horse or ridin' the range
it's the love of the West
the mountain sunsets
the valley stretching out for miles
the sound of the coyote howl

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

Dulcinea

Dulcinea sits in wonder
as Don Quixote wanders about
fighting his brood of windmill warriors
white sails billowing in the wind

Dulcinea knows his illusion
confusing victor of the spoils
while he conquers his unseen enemy
she ponders her life alone

Dulcinea, Quixote's allusion
beauty fair and loving deep
like the windmills in his mind
alas, she is also not real

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

duet

it begins, an untitled song
a song for a winter's day
without lyric or refrain
a catchy little tune
that I hum while
the seasons change
winter to spring, spring to
summer, summer to fall
the tempo growing stronger
till once again, winter returns
lyric forming in thought
the song to be sung
a duet

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

looking for you

you were searching for something that you found in me
a mirror reflected the things that you needed
when you were drifting and looking for a friend
Heaven opened a door and I walked in

I think I must have been looking too
the ups and the downs--storms weathered with you
it isn't always easy, sometimes it's a test
we give it our all and we do our best

this road that we travel, may it be never ending
may we travel together, not forget our beginning
right here and right now is where I want to be
I'm there for you, and you here for me

you were searching for something that you found in me
a mirror reflected the things that you needed
when you were drifting and looking for a friend
Heaven opened a door and then I walked in

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

miles behind

my Passport stamped for a trip not taken
I made the flight but missed the connection
I see you from my window seat
the engine noise is deafening
as the wheels lift from the tarmac

clouds at thirty thousand feet
nothing to do but sit and think
of how I could have done it better
out wait the storms for fairer weather
hind-sight is twenty-twenty

the mountains loom and I am home
once more I return alone
my dreams left on a foreign coast
with the thing I wanted most
all that miles behind

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

paths

snow rests on its peaks
paths we blazed in the summer
waiting for the heat

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

skipping stones

I remember a summer day
wind dancing across that
waist high grass
a little creek running
through the middle

I remember loving that
was oh so sweet
beside that little stream
skipping stones in-between
the kisses that grew deep

I remember laying in your arms
on a warm summer day
nothing in our way
like it was yesterday
basking in the warmth
of your love

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

desert winter

the wind blows cold
the sky is grey
the sun doesn't shine

winter comes to the desert

snow will fall in the mountains
frosting them icy white
a beautiful vision

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

meteor shower

a meteor shower is about to come
the weatherman's predicting
the southwest sky is very clear
so clouds won't be conflicting
I'm gonna grab a blanket, baby
we can cuddle to stay warm
with body heat and the blanket
we can watch the meteor storm

spread a sleeping bag on the ground
let's watch as each one falls
snuggling close, in between each kiss
we may not view them all
maybe we can catch a few
if we open up our eyes
a celestial event such as this
viewed best in the pre-dawn hours

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

standing by

waiting in the terminal
no boarding pass in hand
trying to get out of here
looking for a destination
all the lines are really long
everyone wants an attraction
they all have a ticket in hand
while I'm just standing by

free isn't what it used to be
there is always a cost
sometimes it isn't worth the price
and takes most of your time
if you want it bad enough
I believe it can be yours
it is better to have a seat confirmed
instead of standing by

finally, my name is called
I step forward to the gate
I've been bumped this whole day long
I'm tired of the pushing and shoving
as they scan my boarding pass
I enjoy the glares from others
expect delays and cancellations
when you are standing by

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