no longer any need

you're writing less than ever before
now that you've found all that you looked for
no lyrics about running away from it all
no poems about the past or yesterday's falls

content and warm as you map your plan
finally heading toward your promised land
checking off everything on an imaginary list
that I told you once you would need for this

no sonnets about how you and I could never be
about a treasure on the road left under mesquite
a song about a dream that was left diminished
'bout starting more dances then you could finish

yes, you write less, no longer any need
to pen about pain from old scars that bleed
good luck, dear friend, as you make your next move
what stays in the past will be better for you

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

that once sweet place

take me back to that once sweet place
our first kiss and tight embrace
to those lyrics and loving refrains
to the music of the love song sang
to those dreams of yesterday

take me back to that very first time
where feelings escalate and like ivy climbs
higher and hotter those flames that grew
leaving embers to be refueled
acquiesced passion for me and for you

take me back to when love was new
when all that we ever wanted to do
was discover the hidden treasures
the secrets and the pleasures
of what it could be like together

take me back to our start

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

Arrogance

It was arrogance on your part
To think I wouldn’t see
The game that you were playing
Devastated me

How you kept me hanging on
Worked for you in the past
But I was on to you my love
And learned it very fast

How much further would you go
To pretend we were secure
I’ve lost my fascination
And no more will endure

By the time you read this
I’ll already be gone
Play your game with someone else
Find another pawn

the trail not blazed

I've stumbled through the darkness,
the ground quaking beneath
caught in Purgatory
where the past and the future meet.

as the flame would flicker
I could see the things you missed
like a candle lighting slowly
after it flickers and hisses

courage to move forward
you finally make your move
splintered bridges all around
connecting me to you

the dawn breaks on distortion
vignettes of fallen dreams
trudging into morning
another day it seems

I'll meet you where the road forks
and let you choose your way
I will take the other path
the one we have not blazed

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

free

I could see what lay hidden
and had never seen the light
reaching into your darkness
I tried to make it right
making up for little things
you had missed upon your way
but it still lays there buried
won't see the light of day

you say that you weren't ready
but our time might still come
so we played with fire
'til one of us succumbed
loving you wasn't easy
and I took all the risk
giving not your heart
but only just your kiss

a tear will not fall
for those yesterday's
for what was never nourished
but instead, got put away
the shadow stretches longer
on the times I spent with you
silence falls here heavy
on all that you subdued

like a mask it covers
all but only passion
in despair comes heartbreak
that is always in fashion
you can hide the truth
asking nothing of me
the shroud will never slip
when you set me free

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

will I?

I open the door and toss in more
stuff that no doesn't fit
just when the dust had settled
I sneeze from what it lifts

holding too long to way too much
I thought it might be needed
most of the cuts and those deep bruises
look like they may start healing

I close the door and turn the lock
I say it's time to forget
on the floor staring up at me
is your smiling photograph

one last time I look at it
before I can think twice
a single tear slips down my cheek
the saline burning my eyes

will I ever be strong enough?
will this heartache cease?
will what you left ever go away?
it keeps getting the best of me

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

more than you'll ever know

I chased the lightning across the dark
felt the thunder where the demons are parked
stood in the rain to let it cleanse
saw my soul through a crystalline lens

I rung out the drops but still stood wet
couldn't put it aside or ever forget
it's buried too deep and the cleanse isn't pure
no matter how many storms I endure

the morning comes and the sun shines hot
did you ever love me or did you not?
my spirit stays damp and will never dry out
when I think its gone...new thoughts sprout

I climbed the mountain and shout the words
they echo scaring the animals that heard
I stare at the valley stretched below
remembering more than you'll ever know

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

inside, outside

inside chambers hidden deep...
inside tissue, capillary and vein...
inside pumps the memories of love...

outside showing for all to see...
a negative of transparency...
projected on ambivalence...

inside, outside all gets mixed...
spilling over when it gets too thick...
can they see me inside out...

am I outside looking in...

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

rush

I need the rush it always brings
expanding vessels to my brain
the aroma and my favorite taste
caffeine, do your stuff

pump your magic to my heart
flood my head with a thousand thoughts
invigorate and energize me
caffeine, do your stuff

shake this languor from last night
rid those dreams with this daylight
a full day is ahead of me
coffee, always what I need

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

purrrrrr

take me for a test drive
look there under my hood
tinker with my engine
I still run pretty good

look at my cute chassis
investigate my dash
I can get you anywhere
and do it pretty fast

investigate me deeper
don't do it just for fun
I may have a couple of dings
but I still purr when I run

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

more or less?

you laced on your running shoes
said you'd return real quick
that was several months ago
I haven't seen you since

that's what I get for trusting
or believing there would be more
all I can remember of you is
your yellow shirt going out that door

I haven't changed a thing here
in case you ever come back
your coffee cup sets empty
and dusty on the rack

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

riding away

now the cowboy is riding away
he played a hand, I couldn't play
the queen of hearts on an ace-high straight
now the cowboy is riding away

love sinks low like the setting sun
there were many things he could have done
the in and out; the revolving door
riding away this time for sure

the moon comes up on the final scene
casting its glow on what could have been
the queen of hearts, I played on your ace
was more than the cowboy's heart could take

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

a silent little prayer

you sped by and I glimpsed your face
your stuff all packed for your quick getaway
you've tried before but it just didn't take
a fool never learns from past mistakes

you left a treasure under a Palo Verde tree
down in the Valley where all was green
you're heading north with your heart mapped out
forgetting a tiny piece that lays due South

you hit the brakes as the interstate forks
your heart a little heavier than you had thought
the song that plays on your radio
says you stayed too long...it was time to go

without a thought or without any cares
you say again your silent little prayer
"don't let what I'm doing be a huge mistake
am I too early or just an hour too late"

you hit the mountains and are feeling mighty fine
ready to try it all one more time
but the dust won't settle on your yesterdays
the shadow in your soul you thought filed away

like a 12-step program you try to justify
take all the wrongs and try to make them right
but it comes creeping back when you try to fall asleep
all you left behind and what you couldn't keep

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

find your way

it pains me to see what is left
the shadow replaced by mere bones

I see through the skeleton
the view partially blocked by a rib
but viewable just the same

on the other side grass is green
flowers bloom and grow
the sun sets in the west and yonder
the crescent moon glows
a new star shines in the night sky as
an old one dies and falls to earth

walk forward my friend
one foot in front of the other
a prophet shall lead the way
the piper paid in purest silver
as you find your path...
love is an uphill climb

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

breached

somewhere deep between darkness and light
I lost my way in the evening's twilight
I can't remember when I've been this cold
across this valley where it was foretold

I shield my eyes, with both of my hands
reach across this desert where there's nothing but sand
I look across the borders searching far and wide
across this valley to the inside of my mind

I can see the light that's breaking through the leaves
and the harder it gets, the more I believe
over the barricades and trenches I climb
across this valley to inside my decline

the things I've lost there somewhere in time
I’ve stared down honor, saw its surprise
the reasons and the rhymes I still deny
across this valley where my soul wanders blind

chaos reigns when the order gets tossed
and my only crime is the time I've lost
the distance is there but no limits do I reach
across this valley where my heart was breached

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

Quiet Solitude

In the early evening
After all the work is done
We spend some time together
And watch the setting sun

Sitting on the terrace
Just my love and me
Content in quite solitude
As we watch the rolling sea

Sitting here together
His arm around me tight
Embracing all we see and feel
Under stars that light the night

No place that we would rather be
No place we need to go
We’ll sit here for hours
As our passion grows

The sea and you and all the stars
Are all I’ll ever need
My heart and soul are so content
My mind at last at ease

Let’s stay here forever
Loving, secure, serene
In this beach house by the sea
Just my love and me

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

west by southwest

ebb and flow oh mighty tide
in the golden lunar light
waves that whisper to the shore
I'm always coming back for more

no wasted hours, I spend with you
my soul at peace when once I view
I hear you call, I hear you call
once again, I am enthralled

free my mind, fill my days
with solitude and warm sun rays
my spirit soars, my mind will rest
your quiet beauty, west by southwest

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

if you write the songs

keep on moving
push as hard as you can
you never get back anymore
than you are giving
keep on living
keep on believing
if you write the songs
those around will sing them

I can see where you are going
you are half-way there
all it takes is effort
and a little bit of prayer
keep on giving
keep on hoping
if you write the songs
those around will sing them

if you write the songs
those around will sing them

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

I confess

Father, forgive me for I have sinned...

I confess it all, repenting complete
penance handed down from a curtained confessional
kneeling, I beg for Your forgiveness
vowing to tread a righteous path
knowing in my heart, as I depart
I will still wrong others
that Satan always comes creeping back
and tonight, I will sin again

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

I pray...I pray

I close my eyes and run
blindly, toward what is real
cursing the sweet taste
of lips that ask nothing
can I give without breaking
can I take and ask nothing
I pray for sun, rain falls
I pray..I pray

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

inspired

on a crisp white page
I read the words
flowing like lyrics
to my favorite song
and they inspire me
to be all I can be
and the simpleness
fills my heart

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

lightning strike

lightning flashes across the sky
energy I feel in my veins
it illuminates all, the here and the now
unleashing what lays underneath

thunder rumbles, low and long
tremors shaking deep inside
it forewarns the storm, about to come
the passion quaking inside of me

it does strike twice starting as a glow
it does ignite the heat and desire
it does burn hot, white and intense
it does cause the fire that burns within

nature's ferocity at its best
matched by passion's avidity
stirring what lays just under the skin
a fervor unbridled and set free

let the lightning flash and the thunder roll
striking twice, igniting it all
release the fury..this raging inferno
saddle and ride the tempestuous wind

it does strike twice starting as a glow
it does ignite the heat and desire
it does burn hot, white and intense
it does cause the fire that burns within

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

grains of sand

lessons sometimes come too late
grains of sand in restless wind
a soul without conviction
placing it all in Your hands

as you turn your back and leave
bits and pieces fall behind
could I have loved you better
thoughts spinning 'round in time

I can't see Your reasons
I don't know, I just don't know
weeds in the garden grow steadily
as I reap the things I sow

lessons some times too late
grains of sand in the wind
a soul without conviction
placing it all in Your hands

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

evolve

with the wind at my back, a cool breeze on my face
toe to heel, shoes click-clack as I walk about this place
I'm living this life and praying for better days
boxing up the old stuff and stowing it all away
looking for the answers to the same old questions
breathing in the dust from previous misconceptions

narrow is the road, that is paved with truth
wide is the trail that leads me to you
I listen to that voice, here deep inside of me
whispering of sweetness but it doesn't set me free
the sand holds footprints, swept clean by each new tide
and the moon that glows reflects where it resides

I yearn for something, hope that's undeterred
what a dream promises, each morning the sun blurs
still I have my reasons--why I've held on to the past
knowing deep down that it wasn't built to last
the answers to the questions, all stay unresolved
there is no gestation, when love does not evolve

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

onward

you take me as I am
I take it as it comes
when it all starts caving in
and I start to self-combust

looking over my shoulder
your wind at my back
forward, on this trail
keeping me on track

grace and goodness flow
divine intervention wanes
over and over and over
it all ends up the same

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