Building Bridges

times get hard, frustrations will come
tensions and stressors that can do us in
testing relationships, testing resolve
causing some to give up, to turn and to walk

but I’m not a quitter, can’t walk away
not without fighting for what I believe
I don’t give up, can’t throw in the towel
won’t try to fake it when the going gets tough

I would rather build bridges
fight the current when I must
mend the things that need fixing
make the effort, knock down walls

the challenge has it’s merit
so the battles I will fight
the return is immeasurable
the rewards, worth my time

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

Double Edged

The words, cutting, thrusting
A double edged sword

Struck down by the truth
By the intensity of the jab

The deepness of the strike
From the point to the hilt

I take the caustic blow
From your Vorpal sword

And as I lay wounded, bleeding
You scabbard your weapon of choice

And walk away

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

Torn

You’ve pushed me to the limit
Had all I can take
Re-evaluating this liaison
This crumbling relationship

Tempers always flaring
Loving, less and less
What is it that you want from me?
We’re cracking from the stress

My mind is spinning out of control
My soul is torn and raw
Nothing I can hold on to
Like a cat that was declawed

Is there anything here worth saving?
Tell me what you want
Instead of pushing my buttons
And acting nonchalant

It'll take hard work to mend this
To reconnect this bond
To get back to where we started
To get back what we first found

I can’t do it by myself
You need to do your part
Shall we give it one more chance?
Forget it….I’m gonna walk!!

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

A Special Place

There is this place that I go
When I need serenity, calmness, piece of mind

No one knows it but me
It is for my alone time, my soul searching time

I discovered it a long time ago
I stumbled upon it and was captivated

It is a place you can not find on geo search
On a map, with GPS or a compass

It is for me, just me and me alone
If I share the location it will become crowded and over used

I hope that you can find a place like this!

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

Intervention

Like a cancer eating away at me
The outlook very grim
Insides, raw and tortured
Viewpoint getting dim

Running from the same old ghosts
The things that held me back
Just can’t proceed forward
Just can’t get on track

Moving through a maze of darkness
No pinpoint of light
Bleak, austere, unwelcoming
Months of endless nights

My mind is really racing
No thoughts to end this strife
How can I get out of this?
And reconstruct my life

All is crashing down on me
No angels to protect
Can’t light any candles
What did I expect?

I need some intervention
A clear direction shown
I feel that I am grabbing at straws
No obvious way is known

Just a meager ray of hope
To relieve some of this despair
Something to hold on to
An answer to my prayers

I will keep on searching
Keep pleading on my knees
Till I am finally rescued
Till redemption comes to me

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

Covid 19

the world's gone crazy
everything mad
wishing for stuff
they used to have
no waiting in lines
if you're buying gas
all I can say,
this too shall pass

hoarding the products
they really don't need
this virus the worse
this world has seen
many are really
much more bad off
headache and chills
and contagious coughs

sequestered I stay
in my warm house with you
there is so many things
that we two can do
I miss eating out
but really not that much
I'm happy to stay here
others keep in touch

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

Thoughts of You

I decided not to think about you anymore
The way your eyes twinkled when you looked at me
The way you touched me

I didn’t think about you when I was in the shower
The way you used to sing
When you where in your’s

I didn’t think about you when I was making coffee
You always took your’s black
In your favorite mug

I didn’t think about you on the drive to work
Or how you would call me
And talk to me on the drive

I didn’t think about you during the day
When I was having lunch
At your favorite place

I didn’t think about you when I was sitting on the terrace
At the end of the day
Listening to your favorite song, drinking your favorite wine

I didn’t think about you when I went to bed
The pillow next to me cold, like your side of the bed
Your scent lingering on the case

I didn’t think about you

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

Tricks

I need to work more magic
You’re not as easy as I thought
It’s going to take a little more
Than a rabbit out of a hat

I've already done the sleight of hand
And all the card tricks I know
You just don’t seem to get it
Or you’ve seen it all before

Maybe I need to do the cuffs
And put you in the box
Drop you in the water
To see if you can get out

This relationship exhausts me
Not going as I planned
The smoke and mirrors always worked
But not this time my friend

If I make a dove appear
Where there wasn’t one before
Can I do the same with affection?
It’s the only trick untried!

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

Wind

The wind is blowing very hard
I step outside to clear my mind,
brush my hair from my face
Maybe I should stay out here a long time!

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

Dreams

Falling into deep, deep sleep
A dream with only me
A dream of greener pastures
Dreams of prophecy?

Standing in a meadow
Flowers all around
Flowers of every color
Around me do surround

Lifting up my tired arms
I smile and close my eyes
Turn my face into the sun
Releasing all old ties

And now I’m being lifted
And soar into the air
Soaring over meadows
Leaving all life’s cares

Weightless and enchanted
The dream goes on till light
Waking serene and happy
From a tranquil, peaceful flight

Love's Aftermath

It’s the one’s that we hurt
Although we don’t try
Ripping their world
Leaving questions of “why”

Moving carefully
Always looking back
Cautiously stepping
Trying to use tact

Painful disillusion
From what can not be
Maybe good for you
But not good for me

The pain still comes
To those in our path
There is no avoiding
Love’s aftermath

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

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