honey

you speak my name
honey from your lips
love in your heart
I taste in each kiss

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

bleed

invisible lessons
no one can see
scars on the heart
from those we believed
truth is a bandage
that won't stop the flow
you still bleed out
you just bleed slow

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

broken string

a pantomime of love
a song that doesn't play
a memory marked in time
a song from yesterday

guitar with a broken string
a chord you couldn't strum
no lyrics anyway
to this song that I now hum

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

seaweed

a crimson line
drawn in the sand
a heart washed up
on a desolate strand

the tide flows in
with its endless reach
hope twisted in seaweed 
broken shells on the beach

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

vortex

twisted, turning, spinning round
vortex, darkness as I drown
no light left to find my path
no way forward
no way back

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

triple haiku

in your back pocket 

you put everything I give 

you sit on my heart

in your chest pocket 

you hold the one that you love 

guarding with your heart 

and still I remain 

like the fool that I am 

blindly goes your heart

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

you and me

in the smell of the pine mixed

with fireplace smoke

hot chocolate kisses

and angels of snow

the warm winter sun

that gave us its glow

the laughter of lovers

as we play as we go

the day winds down quickly

to moon and starlight

the fire rekindled

on this cold, cold night

candles are lit and

now they beam bright

all nestled and warm 

but my hair--what a sight

we do not gather with 

family or friends

its just us two 

and we're staying in

maybe next year

the pandemic will end 

I'm fine with just you

for as long as this wends

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

confession

in the still of the night
when coyotes howl
when stars shine and
the moon rises high
that is when you come
your shadow on my mind
your touch on my dream
in which I belong to you

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

resolution

it is that time of year
that we pause, take stock
think of new resolutions
and the old we did not keep

this New Year, I resolve
to look deep and measure
to think, not in abstract
to feel, not more than there is
to accept what is given
in the spirit it is given
to really listen
to dream less
to realize more
to not over analyze
to accept and not push

this New Year

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

clarity

clarity
like a fine wine
needs to breathe
once uncorked

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

perfect

I tired to bottle time
to hold it close to me
but it keeps slipping through
like sand in the hour glass

perfect little moments
perfect was that time
maybe gone forever
except in fantasy

it all came together
dreams sometimes do come true
memory locked inside a heart
dreams kissed by the moon

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

rogue

thought that I was in control
my mind controlled my heart
now it seems my heart's gone rogue
and struck out on its own

guess it got tired of being held back
being told what it should feel
the fantasies my mind could hide
the dreams I thought concealed

now I'm in a quandary
I don't know which to trust
a mind that constantly rationalizes
or a heart ready to combust

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

tango

it was the last slow dance
as the music starts to fade
I watched you on the floor
the steps you tried to fake

sometimes the music isn't right
or there's complicated steps
there may be a better partner
someone more adept

it's true, it takes two to tango
your arm drops from my back
before the dance even started
there was too much slack

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

bridges

is it the holiday season
that brings it all to mind
praying for redemption
for what I leave behind

if I can finally break free
from places I have been
a new year, a new chapter
the old tossed to the wind

shrugging the shroud of the past
without losing what I learned
waste deep in aberration
from bridges that I burned

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

reflections

your sun sets in the west
another day slips by
mountains shading valleys
before stars fill the sky

reflections on the hours
before it's yesterday
was there anything you could change
a difference you could make

do you save it for tomorrow?
what if it never comes?
the dreams that you were saving
priorities not begun

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

the truth

as I try to sort it out
listening to what you say
I think you weigh the answers
choosing what you convey
is it what you really feel?
or what I need to hear?
I'm looking for the truth
given without fear
it's what I need to know
not responses
engineered

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

no place else

we've got wide open space, plenty of room to breathe 

down the mountains to the valley blows a fresh, sweet breeze

'cross the patio stretch the shadows from mesquites 

it's my favorite time 'cause you're here with me 

work was crazy but now we are home 

the stress of the day is now long gone

the CD is playing one of our favorite songs 

let's stay here, baby, all night long 

the moon comes up and shines its glow

we're still here dancing on the patio 

you're arms are around me and we're moving slow 

no place else to be, no place else to go

tomorrow will probably be just like yesterday 

we're not ready to put this night away 

right here, right now is where we want to stay 

sampling the dessert from love's sweet buffet 

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

secure

I met you in the darkness 

it's daylight and you remain 

in the evening you sing love songs 

in the morning I hum refrains 

past love's that left me wanting 

preparing me for what now stays 

the dreams that used to haunt me 

have now been put away 

you see the special nuance 

study my intricacies

learning every single thing 

there is to know about me

every second of here and now 

you are all I hear 

every day--in every way 

a promise that keeps me near

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

fairytale

let's get away together
a roadtrip just for two
you can find out about me
while I find out about you

hit the open highway
or take the country roads
leave the day to day
with phones on silent mode

let's find a little hidden retreat
tucked back among the trees
a stream that runs behind it
we can wade up to our knees

let's get away together
let's hit the open trail
discover little mysteries
let's start a fairytale

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

call me up baby

call me up please baby
you're the voice
I want to hear
mellifluous lyrics
bringing my dreams near
wish me a sweet goodnight
tuck me in via the phone
call me up please baby
I hate to sleep alone

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

work-around

dreams that can't come true
never works out like you plan
everything you were sure of
slowly slips from your hands
I don't want to be just a lover
and I can't be just a friend
is it now coming full circle
with arcs that close the end

the flame that once burned high
and now it slowly descends
I say it'll all work out
how hard I do pretend
I tried to go the distance
just couldn't hang on that long
sometimes there's not a work-around
when it all goes wrong

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

spell

I turned some heads 

when I walked in 

there you sat 

in the noisy dim 

you looked harmless 

and I sat down 

I found out later 

I was dead wrong 

we started to talk 

the time flew by 

my friends were late

but I didn't mind

the music started 

you asked me to dance 

that was the beginning 

of this one night romance 

the barkeep asks

if we would like another 

one for the road 

as we look at each other 

you take my hand

my, how this night has flown 

we kiss goodnight 

each going home alone 

once in awhile

that evening replays 

what we didn't finish 

with our dance that day

 it is not with sorrow 

but unfed wonder 

of that night we met 

and the spell we were under

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

let's

let's share all that this love allows 

the minutes and hours, the here and the now 

without any secrets, without crossed-fingered vows 

let's share all that this love allows 

let's stay here longer, right in this spot 

let yesterday's problems, now be forgotten

the petals fall...loves me, loves me not 

let's stay here longer, right in this spot

let's not let the blue skies turn into storms 

keeping each other safe, loved and warm

from the darkness of night into each new dawn 

let's not let the blue skies turn into storms 

let's share all that this love allows 

the minutes and hours, the here and the now 

without any secrets, without crossed-fingered vows

let's share all that this love allows

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

summer on the way

the wind blows hard 

and winter's turned cold 

I pulled up my collar 

against the driving snow 

the roads are slick 

and covered with thick ice 

I dream of warmer days 

and summer on the way 

my eyes are stinging 

watering with tears 

it hasn't been this way 

for oh, so many years

I'm chilled to the bone 

just longing to be back home 

I dream of warmer days 

and summer on the way 

out here in the heartland 

all the pipes are frozen up 

snow is piling in drifts 

there's way more than enough 

a snow day for the kids 

a skiers paradise 

I dream of warmer days 

and summer on the way

bring back all the heat 

days by the swimming pool 

days of shorts and flip-flops 

sweat with all I do 

I can adjust to anything 

I don't have to shovel 

I long for warmer days 

and summer on the way

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

sediment

sometimes to hold it together
it's better to leave it alone
to forgive and forget the heartache
and learn from what is known
can you file it all away?
or hide it under a rug
pretend it doesn't really matter
cast off with another shrug

wasn't a love worth saving
the time a total waste
when the glass is finally empty
with a bitter aftertaste
what becomes of the sediment
when to the bottom it falls
only to be stirred up again
when these thoughts are recalled

I can live with all the doubt
I can live with what you missed
I can live without your love
and other things on the list
it changes my direction
a path you already took
you found what you were seeking
not so much as a second look

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