the next best thing

are we all waiting for the next best thing? 

while resting on this plateau

is the hidden from sight our active imagination 

causing dreams that come at night? 

are we always looking over our shoulder? 

wondering if it passed us by 

was it at that busy intersection? 

the corner of was and will be 

where we jay-walked with indiscretion 

 why not slow down and just enjoy

keep what we have without the ploys 

learn the nuances, 

emit the true feeling

understanding all that love allows 

and cancel the subscriptions no longer needed

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

my reflection

what I see in you I see in me 

you are my reflection 

when you hurt I feel your pain 

and want to heal you 

when you soar I too fly 

happy for your joy 

your thoughts are mine on the same wave length 

sometimes no words needed 

you have changed me enriched my life 

in so many ways 

giving back things 

I lost along the way 

thanks for this 

and for so much more 

for being you, 

reflecting me 

 

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

Lost Dreams

The things I left along life’s trail 

I thought I could live without 

Broken hearts and broken dreams

 I’ve hurt some, there’s no doubt 

Leaving ego, leaving self 

Leaving some of my dreams 

Leaving bits of integrity 

That can never be redeemed 

The trail is getting longer 

Losing more along the path 

Looking back in anger 

Need to find a way back 

Stop and reassess my life 

Need to get back on track 

Preserve the little I have left 

Resurrect the things I lack

Time may be to short now 

For redemption of my soul 

To stop the hurt and hurting 

To climb out of this black hole 

Need to listen to my heart 

And do the things that are right 

Restore the days of sunshine 

And end these sleepless nights 

 A 12-step intervention 

Beg forgiveness from those I hurt

 A very slow healing process 

Will my pain also revert?

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

Chapters

Walking on a desolate beach 

Past castles made of sand 

This same beach we walked once 

Together hand in hand 

I smell the salt water from the sea 

Feel the wet, cool tide 

Solitary footsteps now 

You’re no longer at my side 

The tide it ebbs and then it flows 

Coincides with my life 

Highs and lows like pounding waves 

Happiness then strife 

The castles now have washed away 

The sand is clean and smooth 

Another chapter in my life 

A chapter without you

For You Baby

This one’s for you baby 

Even though you’re not here 

To love me when I need it 

And hold me when I’m scared 

This one’s for you baby 

You’ve been gone too long 

Something always coming up 

Singing that same old song 

This one’s for you baby 

You better come home soon 

I can’t take it much longer 

I feel like I’m marooned 

This one’s for you baby 

Maybe I should come to you

I need a break here anyway 

Are you being true? 

This one’s for you baby 

Again the same excuse 

I think it may be over 

I think you need to choose 

 

This one’s for you baby 

Writing’s on the wall 

You should have told me sooner 

Instead of all the stall!

A Friend (for you)

As you tell me your story 

Your fears and inner thoughts 

Your wounds still fresh and bleeding 

Your mind is overwrought 

I listen without judging 

I am what you need me to be 

A confidant and sounding board 

Helping with the debris 

I understand your apprehension 

The stress that you’ve been through 

That hopefully has been laid to rest 

With nothing more to do 

I am what I appear to be 

No agendas, no hidden scheme 

Trust that I am here for you 

A friend when you are in need 

Tell me all your secrets 

Don’t fear me or hold back 

Trust the connection we have built 

This foundation has no cracks

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

Morning

Unexpected pleasures 

Like a pirate’s sunken treasure 

Await 

The mountains at dawn 

As I stretch and yawn 

Grandeur 

The rising sun 

As each day’s begun 

Warmth 

Coffee to start 

Jump start my heart 

Electric 

 A nice hot shower 

Could stay there for hours 

Awaken 

Start a new day 

In the same way 

Glorious 

Now go to work 

Always that quirk 

Consistent 

Think of you on the drive 

Helps me to survive 

Wondrous 

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

Edge of Reason

On the edge of reason
A thread of hope remains
Wanting just to believe
A thin chance of the truth

Hanging on to rationale
Longing for validation
The slender thread is fraying
Not much for substantiation

When the questions are unanswered
Or the answers take to long
The edge of reason starts to wane
And hope is fading fast

The logic now exhausted
All the reckoning is lost
The thread of reason just now snapped
All suspicions wrought

Joy?

Joy is overrated 

It seems that way to me 

Couples all seem happy 

On the surface that you see 

I have been in relationships 

Not as easy as it seems 

One person doing all the work 

Going to extremes 

Next time that I fall in love 

My lover can work harder 

To win love and affection 

And appreciate my ardor

Dark Side Of The Moon

There is a dark side of the moon 

One that I have seen 

It is not all that luminous 

But hidden by moonbeams 

Falling for the obvious 

The moon, it plays some tricks 

Everything is softly lit 

And you are transfixed 

Keep your guard up 

Don’t relent or fall under the spell 

Or you’ll be in deep trouble 

I know this very well 

You need to heed this warning 

You won’t get another chance 

Stay indoors on full moon nights 

Avoid the dangerous trance 

Once you see the dark side 

Your whole life will change 

Everything previous forgotten 

Nothing will be the same

my sky burns

my sky burns 

I smell the acrid smoke 

taste the ash on my lips 

a thirst unquenched 

my skin hot from the heat 

my soul singed my heart incinerates

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

Paradoxical sleep

Random thoughts at arbitrary times
A life once shared quickly demised
Thoughts that swim in water deep
Nightmares come in paradoxical sleep

You watch me flail, in over my head
Drift in and out while I mournfully tread
Choke out the water that’s in my throat
Silently drown or try to stay afloat

You were here and now you’re gone
Ash still falling with each new dawn
A life invested extinguished fast
Promise yields to the aftermath

Strength for all so they don't see
A tower that crumbles inwardly
Internal tears that my heart cries
The perfected façade is just a guise

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

love

like a flower I bloom 

the sun warm on my blossom 

heat radiates from my center 

moisture, rich on my petals 

I bask in your love 

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

simple math

I know > than I need
but < than I want
true - false = questions

if you + love
and / trust
the quotient
is ambiguous
at best

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

pipe-dream

feelings rush through this pipe-dream 

gushing like the leak in Louisiana 

leaking barrels and barrels of me 

killing what surrounds as it bleeds 

there is no fixing this enormous spill 

it spews too fast, with its own will 

Haliburton can't control the danger 

my heart the only thing in range

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

winter

golden leaves drop--dead
frost forms thickly all around
winter bares its soul

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

Tell It To Me Softly

Tell it to me softly 

Whisper the words 

Nuzzle my neck 

Hold me tight 

Take me there slowly 

With passion and fervor 

We have all night 

Let’s not hurry 

Stay with me after 

Caress and sooth 

Until it comes again 

Urgent and pressing 

Just like in the beginning

The Band Plays On

Tired of this same old tune 

Although the music has changed 

Tired of all the ins and outs 

And still the band plays on 

Tired of broken promises 

Wishes that won’t come true 

A one sided relationship 

And still the band plays on 

I think I finally get it 

You were never really there 

It was just my imagination 

And still the band plays on 

Don’t know why I stayed this long 

Knew you couldn’t change 

I know I’ve reached the breaking point 

And still the band plays on 

 I’ve given enough chances 

For you to make it right 

I guess it was too much to expect 

And still the band plays on 

 I’m not dancin' any more 

No matter what the song 

See my back as I walk away 

The band has finally stopped

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

Sins

you are bleeding from every pore 

your spirit is shattered 

the trauma to your soul, massive 

you tell me your sins 

as though I was your confessor, 

but the redemption you need can not come from me 

how many candles should I light? 

how many Hail Mary’s can I say 

to eradicate this pain? 

although the wounds will heal 

irreparable damage has been done 

and my heart aches for you 

can you find your way back? 

tell me what to do, what you need 

to ease this pain 

I stretch out my hand, grab hold 

I offer a shoulder, lean on me 

I open my heart and surround you with love 

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

Connect

I saw you 

Tall and fair

Standing by your car

You were as I pictured

How I thought you would be 

What I wanted you to be 

We connect 

Both mind and body 

On the same wave length 

We forge a bond 

A bond of friendship

A bond of trust and faith 

And when we part 

We each take with us 

A little of the other 

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

doors

doors close and open
what is around the corner
is a mystery

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

dotted line

I wait for a sign
standing in this valley
my mind outstretched to you

visions that I see...
tall saguaros
mountains surrounding
warm sun
blue sky
me and you

the path we walked
side by side
has weeds pushing up
through the dotted lines

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

call my name

when the sun sets low
in the desert sky
the wind finally stops
blowing in the mesquites
the moon starts to rise
in the dark of night
I will find you

when your dreams come
the ones that let you down
when you toss and turn
but can't shake them off
you reach and touch the
cold pillow near your own
in the dead of night
I will find you

call my name
and I will be there
reach for me
in your hour of prayer
whether you whisper or shout
say it or think it
there will not be anyone
in my heart but you
in the dark of night
I will find you

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

features and benefits

the features of this relationship are:
you are a strong friend
you love me more than your luggage
you are a genius (at times)
you have Freudian insight
you guide me through tough decisions
you are deep like Voltaire
you are optimistic
you do not criticize
you are a voice of reason
you support me
you let me vent
you are funny
you are sincere
you encourage my writing
you've stuck around (why, I don't know)
and more that I can list

the benefits speak for themselves

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

the mediator

this is my new role
feelings out, resolution
all on the table

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