The Quest

Standing at a crossroads
Two paths I can take
Neither holds much promise
Either could be a mistake

Weighing of my options
Is it left or right
One is blue sky and sunshine
The other, bleakness and night

The blue sky road could be a trick
Hidden till I enter
Going halfway down the path
Before the route turns bitter

The bleak path could be better
Maybe it’s a test
The darkness could become the light
To give my mind and soul some rest

I have to choose correctly
The one that serves me best
Once it has been chosen
It’s the finale to my quest

Although they both lead onward
And there’s no way to turn back
I’ll stick with the choice I make
I’ll stay on the path

Go forward with foreboding
Praying this is right
I’m choosing the path of sunshine
I’m choosing the path of light!

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

Sailing

Hoist the sail
Push off from the beach
It is a perfect day

The wind catches the sail
Moving me forward
On a deserted sea

My little boat cuts through the water
Smoothly, swiftly, effortlessly
The salt water spraying me

This is the best time
The best time for reflection
The best time to take stock

Drop the sail
Float for awhile
Adrift, but loving it

The sun is warm
I bask in it
Happy for this day

Nothing pulling on me today
Clear conscience, clear soul
Content for the first time in a long while

Yes, it is a perfect day

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

Smart People

One of the smartest people in the world
was one that invented coffee
Yeah, electricity, fire, the wheel, all good
But coffee, makes my life work!

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

Your Heart

I am all that she is not
The current runs deep
Have you forgot?

I have the wit
My mind is sharp
I am all that is legit

Look inside
It's genuine
Honesty is what resides

The choice is yours
And the choice is hard
But I’m the one that let’s you soar

What I offer is for real
Heart and soul
Nothing concealed

Make your choice
Let your heart decide
Listen to it, hear it's voice

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

Hard To Please

Went out walking
For a day
In a meadow
By the bay

Sun is shining
Down on me
The only place
I want to be

All is good
All is right
A happy day
A day of light

I could use
Many more of these
I’m really not
That hard to please!

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

A Coffee Prayer

Don’t like the way we left things
Hurting on both sides
When you stormed out last evening
Slamming the door on my pride

Thought about the things you said
While I was trying to sleep
Removed the bitterness from your words
Although they touched so deep

I’m sorry that you feel that way
But some things I can’t change
Like a cat that can not have new spots
Some things can’t be rearranged

Please accept me just like this
I offer you what I can
I can’t give you more than that
It’s just the way I am

Now it is a new day
And I’m thinking about you
Our history together
And what I need to do

And as I make my coffee
I say a prayer or two
One is for our future
The other, just for you

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

Poetry and Haiku

All of my haiku’s are perfectly true
The poetry, maybe some parts
Poetry draws from many places
Haiku’s, right from my heart

The haiku’s are quick and easy to do
The prose takes much more time
The content, the words, and everything else
And then, try to get it to rhyme!

The haiku’s are thoughts that pop into my head
At all different times of the day
Everything I do could be a haiku
If I wanted to do it that way

I still like the prose and the time that it takes
To think out each of the verses
Remember, most are not about me
That makes them much more perverse!

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

Freedom!!

You say you will
But then you won’t
You say you do
And then you don’t

All these actions
Mixed at best
Are really putting me
To the test

Decide which way
It’s going to be
Or I am gonna have to
SET YOU FREE!!

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

Fear

I had the dream again last night
Always starts the same
Standing outside in the cold
And in the pouring rain

Nothing here to keep me dry
Or shield me from the damp
Daunting darkness all around
No candles or street lamps

Trying just to come awake
To overcome the fear
To shake the panic that I feel
That is so severe

Gently now you draw me near
And soothe away the fright
Hold me tightly in your arms
Until the day's new light

Keys

Wouldn’t it be heaven
To hit the key delete
For troubles and all stresses
And problems we do meet

Maybe escape would also work
To alleviate the pain
It works ok on keyboards
Why not for our gain

Control is another key I like
It makes me feel so strong
Yes control is something we all need
The righting of all wrongs

And home is always welcome
Safe, protected, and secure
Home by far is the best key
Yes, it’s the best for sure

Reflections

Looking at the ocean
Turbulent like my soul
Reflecting on past memories
When my life was whole

Wondering about the future
Days like endless tides
Hoping for resolution
For my tumultuous life

Redemption from soul searching
Deliverance from the pain
Release from agonizing moments
Rescue from life's strain

I pray to god please save me
Put me on the path
To recovery and understanding
Faith and forgotten pasts

Repent

Expressing inner feelings
Turmoil and torment
Putting it in writing
My way to repent

Penning deepest secrets
Tortured, weary soul
Eases the pain somehow
Helps me to extol

Unbarring broken spirits
Written on this page
Read but not forgotten
Keeps my mind engaged

I will keep on writing
About the pain acquiree
No breaks from the torture
But inspiration is inspired

Soar

Studying your profile
Something not quite right
Got a funny feeling
You’re miles away tonight

I have felt you slipping away
You say that it’s all fine
The way you looked at me is gone
Been going for sometime

Feeling like a little bird
With an injured wing
That knows that if I try to span
The pain that it will bring

This loneliness I’m feeling
Has shaken my very core
The loving that you and I once shared
Is not here any more

Someday when my wing has healed
Far away I’ll soar
Start a new life on my own
The heartache I’ll ignore

Basics

Getting back to basics
Shedding some of the past
Only parts that hold me back
Although those are most vast

Stripping away the layers
Taking apart my soul
Holding to what’s needed
That helps to keep me whole

Looking very deeply
Into what seems right
To resurrect my spirit
And bring me to the light

Unshared

Living each new moment
Always on my own
Unshared thoughts and memories
Is all that I have known

When will I be rescued
Hopeless, lonely, lost
Respite from a solitary life
Redeemed at any cost

Come to me and share my dreams
Share my every emotion
Give to me your thoughts and love
And promise me devotion

Building a life of harmony
With everything we share
Abolish this emptiness inside
Answer all my prayers

I will wait here patently
Come and find me soon
Our new horizon waits
A future brightly looms

Trails

As I walk along this trail
I wonder why my love has failed

Thought I did all that I could
To make it go the way it should

Never, ever turned out right
All we ever did was fight

Even though my love stayed true
It was not enough for you

Know I could not make you stay
Knew that you would leave one day

Left me here without a word
Not caring about the pain incurred

I’m the only one in pain
Your life has remained unchanged

Someday you will know this ache
When your love is put at stake

You’ll seek redemption from your past
And all the sorrows you amassed

If you’re very, very contrite
Forgiveness may come from these slights

The Answer

I have felt what you feel now
I know where you are
You are feeling tormented
And your heart is scarred

Telling me that you’re aching
And that you are alone
Why did all of this happen?
You are really thrown

I want to be your answer
I’ve loved you for so long
Been unable to tell you
While your heart’s not strong

I will help you reason
Help your heart to mend
Be there for you always
Help you to contend

When your heart and faith have healed
My love to you I’ll swear
Hopeful that you will embrace
All that I want to share

Beliefs

Holding on to my beliefs
And what I know is right
Sometimes bending of the rules
To make it fit my life

You want me to change some things
To be a better fit
To the way you live your life
And say I must submit

Why can’t I just be me?
And love you as I will
Instead of altering my whole life
Just so you're fulfilled

Maybe your ways you should change
To make my life complete
Being something that I’m not
Borders on deceit

If our love is meant to be
We have some work ahead
Make adjustments as we go
Tenderly we’ll tread

Careless

Never was I careless
Tried to do what’s right
Following the guidelines
 a template for my life

Protection from the harmful
Protection from the pain
Still some was inflicted
And knowledge there was gained

Goals for what I’m needing
Goals for what should be
Goals left by the sideline
Goals I can’t foresee

Still I will be careful
Especially with my heart
Feeling out the aggressor
So I don’t fall apart

Always starting slowly
Like a slow, slow dance
You can win me over
I am worth a chance

the prey

I ran out of moonlight
lost my direction
you went ahead
severed the connection
a shield on your chest
to protect from affection
lost for awhile
in your thoughts of
perfection

wondering, wandering
alone with my thoughts
doing the puzzles
from dot to dot
gathering speed
measuring the knots
of things I knew
and those I forgot

all looks different
in the light of the day
of those we catch
or the getaways
looking more closely
at what I have splayed
you were the hunter
and I, just the prey

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

moonlight and memory

moonlight and memory burn in dreams
and poetry can not capture
thoughts and feelings from long ago
when you held me enraptured

tossing and turning I do not rest
trying to avoid this faceless apparition
the body is there and the features appear
bringing the dream to fruition

hurry sun and rise, shine through these blinds
so once more, it will all disappear
let coffee clear my head, erasing this dread
that reminds me that you are not here

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

Someday

I gave you something precious
You tossed it to the side
Something unimportant to you
But essential to my life

I gave to you my purest love
My spirit and my passion
You used the part you wanted
And took the rest for granted

Leaving my heart broken
You’ve moved to your next mark
Betraying all that I hold dear
Before you did embark

Someday unsuspecting
The tables will be turned
You will experience this kind of loss
Once your heart gets burned

abyss

in a far off place
a land full of dreams
wonder approaches

although asleep
I can taste the sweetness
on my lips

if I move
it slips into the abyss
of darkness

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

dancing with a shadow

close your eyes
pretend I am there
an apparition
from out of thin air

the scent of want
the taste of desire
soaked in cold sweat
a soul set on fire

dancing with a shadow
chords strummed from deep thought
music playing in your head
from our phantom wroughts

sleepless are the nights that come
dreams return the same
whispering a chorus line
whispering my name

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

it drifts

in the valley of the moon...it drifts
light and white, a dense fog
waiting for closed eyes and unguarded thought
as images impale cerebral hemispheres
whimsically it dallies, a shadow on dark walls
flashes of color play on the backdrop of dreams
while softly it whispers a lullaby

a sweet dream comes

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