circle

like a circle, round and round
no beginning and no end
arcs that meet, connected and true
what begins and what ends with you

tracing over and over again
deeper and deeper with my pen
pressing harder as I draw
imprinting me inside of you

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

smooth

I swallow the concoction
my heart seemed quickly soothed
a little truth mixed with the lies
made it taste so smooth

ambrosia to my waiting tongue
with bibulous afterglow
predilection quickly sets
blurring all that I know

heartburn overtakes me
like the waves of the Black Sea
what echoes in this chamber
may never set me free

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

play it to the bone

you play it to the bone
all ends against the middle
while you are laying back
we dance to your fiddle
always a new song
lyrics unrecorded
as you write each verse
all the words distorted

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

gold standard

my gold standard dips
monetary units fall
what was once extravagance
is worth little at all
inflation reigns
the black market profits
blood diamonds mined in Africa
trade high on the market
as I slip into poverty
my portfolio crashes
you are living in luxury
made rich on advances

prices plummet at the pump
oil, by the barrel, left to rot
you can fill up with nowhere to go
things we have left worth little or not
stuff you don't need, but still you take
hording, stockpiling all that is left
sitting in the corner of an empty room
you call it want, others call it theft
a race to the finish line
for what is to be
I guess we'll just wait
and eventually see

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

The Right Way

It is the sounds of the morning
Garbage truck, school bus, birds
And you, snoring softly
Wanting those few extra minutes

I watch you, early in the morning
Covers askew, hair messed, peaceful
Wanting to stay here all day
Without the tension and stress that work brings

Rolling over you wrap yourself around me
Covering my neck and face with kisses
Hugging me with your arms and legs
Surrounding me with your love

Soon the coffee maker will start
The alarm will go off
The paper will hit the front porch
Neighbors will start for work

But you and I will stay here
A little while longer
Hold the routines off for awhile
To start our day the right way

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

illogical

when you are tired
and your mind is weak
the one you are with
is not the one you seek
something missing still
your life is not complete
answers do not come
angels do not speak

when you feel used up
from all that's coming down
illogical ideas from
thoughts that spin around
there is no protection
just incoherent sounds
your angel bows her head
as you're about to drown

you hear a lot of noise
but you can't read the words
the movie keeps on changing
your screams aren't to be heard
destroying all you've built
it is all just too absurd
your angel turned her back
because of what's occurred

when you make a decision
after all this time
you keep slipping backwards
down the rungs you climbed
and it's never poetry
because it doesn't all rhyme
your angel starts to laugh
cause the lyrics sing your crimes

when the answer finally comes
but it's way too late
ice is getting thin
and you still try to skate
you break another heart
in your hurry to escape
this is nothing new
you're told it's just a trait
your angel shrugs her wings
cause you know she can relate

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

as sure

as sure as the lightning flash
before the monsoon starts
as sure as the thunder crack
that follows that above
as sure as the tide flows in
after it has ebbed
as sure as the love you bestow
without question or remiss

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

homeless

homeless, my dreams
wander the street
sleeping in a cardboard box
chilled from the cold
and rumbling hunger
longing for more
hoping for shelter
love that will
take them in

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

I thought

I thought I saw myself
in the words you compose
but it was very vague
a shadow on a page

I thought I saw myself
in that look that you gave
there for just a flash
from your memory cache

I thought I saw myself
in the song that you sang
but it wasn't very clear
if I was ever even there

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

silence

I thought it could be special
the way it started
a beginning in my mind
that somehow got messed up
not saying enough
but saying too much
volumes spoken in silence
not enough questions asked
not enough feelings shared
when the door closed
my heart left on the other side

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

endless wire

a simple melody
you sing sweet and low
songs of hope and promise
as day to evening grows

a love that spans the distance
through miles of endless wire
close to me in spirit
a heart now set on fire

the music getting louder
as you are getting near
the lyrics you are writing
those that will bring you here

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

marks

one mark on the outside
the other lays within
you can read it in my eyes...
what my body verbalizes
but if you want to hear it,
if you want my lips to speak
the whisper that is in my heart
and coursing in all of me
then you will have to tell me--
tell me those three words
I can feel it and I can taste it...
but I won't say it first
never again will I say it first

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

midnight desire

I am passion and fire
your midnight desire
my kiss melting on your lips

heat churns from this tide
as slowly we ride
on this wild and frothy sea

delirium steals your soul
passion takes control
there is nothing that you can do

the moon blushes red
on tangled tresses that spread
across the coolness of satin sheets

at last lovers sleep
as the ceiling fan sweeps
the scent of heavenly perfume

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

lullaby

I found out
not long ago
wanting more
than I had known

Cupid's arrow
a direct hit
my heart stolen
with your kiss

I fall asleep
under starry skies
and hear your song
sweet lullaby

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

weariness

it's too early for birds to sing
sleep is evasive,
dreams nonexistent
I am bathed in darkness,
dressed in coldness
thoughts are heavy,
speeding down congested corridors
will it always be this way?
weariness plagues
my mind betrays
my heart weeps

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

sweet refrain

benign tries
campaign lies
empty sighs
hooded eyes

braided knots
dot to dot
colluded spots
fired shots

another lost
from the frost
marginal cost
aside its tossed

lyric remain
dreams in vain
a lover's game
sweet refrains

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

Unspoken Words

Unspoken words
Sometimes protect
Sometimes drive a wedge

Unspoken words
ones you can’t find
When you need them

Unspoken words
When you bite your tongue
To keep from hurting

Unspoken words
When finally spoken
Can not be pulled back, or forgotten

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

Wonderland

Blue skies almost everyday
Millions of stars at night
It’s beautiful here

A heart that’s true
Uncomplicated mind
Uncomplicated life

All my love to share
All my dreams, my life
All I have to give

Come share my wonderland

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

Touch Me

Touch me, in that way that only you can
Early in the morning when we have no plans

Touch me, in that way that only you know
Slowly, igniting my body and soul

Touch me, like no one else, ever
Make me feel this way forever

Touch me, show me how you feel
Show me what we have is real

Touch me, when you whisper the words
And as my passion begins to spur

Touch me, touch me, touch me
As only you can

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

haunted

the stillness of the night
plagues me, betrays me

the fire in my soul
scorches me, torches me

the aching of my heart
bleeds me, condemns me

my tattered spirit
depletes me, regresses me

the empty pillow
reminds me, haunts me

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

exclamation

When I was a little girl
Playing with dolls and siblings
Wanted to be Barbie because
She had Ken and all the cool stuff
An image for a perfect future

When I was a teen and my life expanded
Hanging with my friends at the Freeze
Weekends full of dances and dates
Driving a stick and sleeping in late
My future was an algebra equation

When I was in my twenties
Had the world by the tail
A golden time, everything shiny and new
Happy with life, family, you
My future was a dream

Those days are long past
I am at a crossroad with no clear sign
Sometimes feeling like a child again
Kiss the hurt mom, make it disappear
My future is a question mark

Can you give me what I need?
Can you be what I’m looking for?
Can you kiss the hurt and make it heal?
Can you erase the question mark?
Leaving instead an exclamation!

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

draw

is this how the story ends?
another tragic love affair
where everything right turns wrong
just another sad, sad song

I held on much too long
to a dream that didn't hold back
cupid shoots but is off with his aim
always a loser in every game

is this how the story ends?
the distance grows on either side
loving you was always hard
I guess we call the end a draw

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

strings

no strings that held you to me
nothing that tied you here
just the pounding of my heart
resonating in my ears

the circle that forms around you
I've now stepped away from
moving left of your center
out of your peripheral zone

that blood red line you drew
traced from a heart that seeped
a fortress to be rebuilt
as love makes it's retreat

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

all that is

I have finally reached that place
that eluded me in the past
I have climbed the mountains
fought my demons
released what wasn't
for all that now is

as you take my hand
walking with me side by side
beauty and grace shine down from above
serenity and love abound
in this place we walk...
this beautiful side of someday

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

opaque

opaque wonder
lighting and thunder
all because of you

questions of the heart
that always seem to start
whenever I’m with you

kindred spirits roam
distance, far from home
thinking about you

hide it all away
starting a new day
moving south of you

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