keeper

I drink my morning latte
you're drinking chocolate milk
I'm eating a french pastry
you're eating, I don't know what
I'm reading the New York Times
you're reading a comic book
I clear the morning table
while you stretch and yawn

let's go back to bed
you say with one of those looks
I read you loud and clear
and follow you from the room
it's this part of our love
where everything is right
you're a keeper baby
and I am here for good

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

unrevealed

it is what lies dormant in this near past
as I reflect in this looking glass
what stays clear and what stays hidden
like ice that covers the ground but glistens
snow angels made in the afternoon sun
while grass waits for the end of winter's run

it is what I hear or cannot hear
no echoing refrains that call me near
without a lover's touch or sweet, sweet moan
reminding me as I sleep alone
no other chances, it rings crystal clear
from when you were here and since disappeared

it is what I feel or cannot feel
was it memory or was it all real
the dance with steps too complicated
like a blockbuster movie that is overrated
what I cannot see or hear or feel
with many a doubt stays unrevealed

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

yesterday

in the midst of night
or just before dawn
the wind blows
it didn't wake me
that's when you slip
into thoughts
as dreams forsake
nocturnal rest

I remember it all
like yesterday
the way it feels
you're still here
a warm embrace
my touch to your face
passion burning
heart's yearning
yesterday

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

never

I'll never say those words again
I'll bite my tongue and hold them in
what lays spilled and sticky on the floor
when it all gushed out that time before
I'll never say those words again

I'll never feel like that again
I'll bury it deep like unforgiven sin
what drifts in dreams, forgotten by morn
swept up like hair after its been shorn
I'll never feel like that again

I'll never hope like that again
hidden by that lovesick grin
it didn't work then nor does it now
I give you this, my solemn vow
I'll never hope like that again

I'll never say those words again
I'll bite my tongue and hold them in
what lays spilled and sticky on the floor
when it all gushed out that time before
I'll never say those words again

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

roll the credits

you rode off into the sunset
like all the cowboys do
you didn't take the girl
swinging her up behind you
the clock is sticking twelve
and Cinderella lost her shoe
and what you leave behind
may someday make you blue

from the very start
you looked for the happy ending
days of many false starts
that seemed like a beginning
every love you had
it seemed like you were winning
but it never happened that way
your wheels were constantly spinning

you came here offering nothing
and with it you are leaving
the first and last don't matter
it's what happens in between
you can write the lyrics
and the music that I sing
it all plays out like a movie
roll the credits on the dark screen

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

how can I tell you?

there in your album
smiling on a page
the ghost of all the others
that leave me so outraged
those you say meant nothing
not worthy of your love
sitting tight and waiting
for a wink or a brief nod

trust is just not given
it needs to be well earned
it mixes in the metaphors
and quietly there it burns 
if they are your past
those limbs upon a tree
they just don't belong here
with you and now with me

I can't find the words to tell you
I don't know what to say

those you say meant nothing
still sitting there at bay
wondering and watching
the truth has many doubts
bless the crying angel
insecurities shall win out

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

something else

I can feel it closing in
that tight feeling engulfs me
my head pounding

I have traveled this road before
instincts are not what they used to be
trusting one time too many

if I follow the signs
will I be lost forever?
or will it lead me out of the dark

the hair stands on the back of my neck
my heart tells me to proceed
my mind says something else

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

indisputable

there isn't a rhyme or reason
or underlying complicated meaning
no reasons to over think it
it doesn't go exactly as planned
I either tried too hard or not hard enough
I gave too little or gave too much
this time it's indisputable
I won't even try
it's funny how it happens
in its own sweet time

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

I give you mine

it once was have; but never hold
used to leave me in the cold
I give you mine to leave or take
to wrap in love or give heartache

if ever there is any doubts
what you put in what you take out
invest it all for a rainy day
it will shine when the sky is gray

steady baby, so few come and don't go
will you or won't you, be the one I always know?
can you build on this? a lasting tabernacle
light my way without snuffing the candle?

what I give to make your own
will make you smile when you're alone
I offer mine to leave or take
to wrap in love or give heartache

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

empty handed

the rhyming comes easy
cadence makes its call
and I stand empty handed
with nothing at all
I shoot from the hip
but the aim is slightly off
and the target means nothing
nothing at all

I write the music
and you write the song
we sing it together
though we are alone
I hear the lyrics
and you feel the dance
when winter has ended
and we took a chance

we kiss and we part
and time passes quick
months have a way
of lighting a wick
the pleasures were ours
and we sing one last tune
but it is never quite over
for me and for you

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

Mona Lisa smile

would you want it if it was perfect?
if the prize held no surprise
if the fabric stretched without wrinkles
without flaws or pills or mars
when you hold it up for inspection
you discover the golden threads
while light dances on the beauty
of the yards in softest hues

would you want it if it was perfect?
a trail without twists and turns
a gravel road that stretches out
five hundred miles or more
not charted on any printed maps
not locatable by GPS
your high beams showing all that's true
on a path that is not so daunting

would you want it if it was perfect?
a photograph in black and white
airbrushed is the quality
hiding what doesn't meet the eye
framed upon the mantle
with a Mona Lisa smile
that brings up all the questions
of what is and won't be known

would you want it if it was perfect?
if the prisoner held less fight
it they surrendered their weapon
raising a white flag in the night
would it be any more rewarding
if resistance lays unmet
if in giving up on convictions
you won the battle but lost the war

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

offerings

it all bubbles forth
like uncorked champagne
the sun breaking through
after days of endless rain
and I'm feeling it all
from one simple text
I want it all--
all that comes next

I hold it close
and wrap it around
my heart's inner wall
and all that surrounds
I whisper a prayer
to the heavens above
that what you are offering
is the offering of love

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

Family and Friends

Although I am far away
From family and old friends
Our hearts are linked, the feelings strong
Renewed when we meet again

There’s not always time to keep in touch
No phone calls, emails or text
Too far away for visits
Too far away to connect

But when we are together
The bonds again intertwined
It’s like there’s been no distance
No space in hearts and minds

Family and friends, sustaining ties
The kind that keep us strong
Nourishing spirit, mind and heart
that last our whole life long

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

disillusioned

the moon shines on questions
deep in the dark
the sun rises unanswered
on where they are parked
maybe they are there
I just don't want to see
protecting my heart
from disillusioned beliefs

one of many days the same
there is no relief
the light doesn't beep on
a phone that just won't ring
I can't put it away,
through every pore it seeps
it won't let me rest
and it never sleeps

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

reflection

read it or not
feel or forget
taste or plot
unpetted pet

laugh or cry
swim or drown
black or blue sky
does surround

happy not sad
life goes on
a lily pad
on a calm pond

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

virus (Dr. Seuss-ish)

I cannot kiss nor can I hug
I might catch the dreaded bug
must mask up and wear some gloves
6ft back don't push or shove

wash your hands, don't touch your face
stay on the X and in your place
I have Purell just in case
killing germs without a trace

they say cases are many more
since we all could go outdoors
follow the rules don't spread the spores
so this virus stops its soar.

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

2020

painted lips that can not kiss
many hugs that I can't give
this horrible virus hanging thick
spreading far and very quick

fires rage the mountainside
up and down with ease it glides
people marching, killing, looting
while the laws they are diluting

copious people lose their way
while innocent ones are those that pay
lawless streets, best stay at home
as day and night the cites are roamed

too much strife to worry about
peace will come I have no doubt
this crazy year took a wrong turn
history repeats; they haven't learned

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

surround myself in you

I want to wake up to the sun
smiling in your eyes
feel your arms around me
and what rises from inside
I want to grasp the freshness
of all that is new and real
water it and let it grow
observe what is revealed

I want to wrap you all around me
surround myself in you
listen to you breathing
learn each nuance, all of your hues
let me be your mirror
reflecting love and light
from early in the morning
to late each and every night

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

thirty-nine

thirty-nine steps lead upward
without railing to cling to
each one a reminder
of all you took with you

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

no tresspassing

posted as no trespassing
no feelings are allowed
in visions of redemption
I stagger through the crowd
the moon glows eerie with envy
confusion wets the ground
breezes soft and holy
temptation's silent sound

with mesmerizing trances
eyes search just to know
what makes flesh and body yearn
for what burns in our soul
a moral sense of duty
a tear falling from the sky
seeing is not believing
as the consequences fly

posted as no trespassing
no feelings are allowed
in visions of redemption
I stagger through the crowd
the moon glows eerie with envy
confusion wets the ground
breezes soft and holy
temptation's silent sound

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

how?

how did you get in so deep?
slip past the walls that I had built
inside the fortress high and strong
stirring up the resting silt

how did you become embedded?
in each thought and every dream
things I hold in a heart shaped box
what slept as dormant memories

how did you become so infused?
pumping hard through capillary and vein
coursing each time my heart beats
running rampant through my blood steam

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

I meant it all

I meant it all right from the start
every line from every poem
every touch and warm embrace
each time my hands touched your sweet face
yeah, I meant it all

I see the prose written on the wall
I feel the song deep in my heart
I hear the guitars, feel the strings
of love that holds a deeper meaning
and what climbs blindly astride
yeah, I meant it all

I smell the smoke and feel the fire
what gets hotter as it all transpires
what is hidden swims to the top
I know that there's no way to stop
how can we just quit
yeah, I meant it all

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

'til we get it right

let's do that again
'til we get it right
if it takes all day
it it takes all night
we could discuss
but talk is cheap
get a little closer, baby
I'll show ya what I mean

let your hands talk
like you're reading braille
your lips moving
on an ivory trail
discover the secrets
down deep inside
as we both float
on passion's tide

let's do that again
'til we get it right
if it takes all day
if it takes all night

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

in the dust

I jumped the hurdles, one and all
some were big and some were small
in the dust, I watched them fall
with all their pretty little flaws

up I went, I climbed the tower
you sent pictures of many flowers
I stood close, it seemed like hours
hanging on when all seemed dour

I still check now and again
window open so I sneak in
it is not a mortal sin
this is how it all begins

disingenuous was their game
we only had our self to blame  
with a match, you set my flame
one more victory to my name

I didn't think I'd come this far
you sing sweet with no guitar
hand in hand we leave the bar
hugging close, we reached my car

three years come and three years gone
it really never seemed this long
we play, on and on and on
I changed the tempo, not the song

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

draw the line

say the words
lance this wound
cut me and watch me bleed
make it indelible
so there's no going back
draw the line

I thought I could
but I know I was wrong
I've tried too many times
it's gone too far, I'm in too deep
my mind's lies are my heart's truths
draw the line

there aren't any songs of forever
no miracles of love lost and found
just rainy days and blues hanging lowand deliverance from pain that won't come
draw the line

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