say a prayer

bitter and cold as you step forth
strong wind blowing from the north
pull up the collar, plot your course
a storm is about to come

lightning and thunder around you now
as you make your break, make your vow
nothing this time will disallow
a storm is about to come

light a candle, say a prayer
don't stop now, you're almost there
freedom of spirit floats on sweet air
with the vanishing of the storm

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

heart

you can't control it 

the heart wants, what the heart wants 

it thinks on its own 

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

dead end

gonna drive this road
until it dead ends
look 'round every corner
see 'round every bend
find a way back
the fences I'll mend
drive this road
until it dead ends

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

coffee

coffee tastes better 

blueberry muffins, sweeter 

when you start my day 

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

requiem

silver fortress standing tall
golden secrets kept within
arid desert does surround
this perfect imperfection

treachery knocks upon the gate
armed with sweetest offerings
enters forth and loudly sings
a diabolical requiem

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

crescent moon

as you come to grips
with what you're worth
rebuild the bridges
burnt by hurts
wishing upon
a millions stars
jotting it down

in your memoirs
across the galaxy

your love is strewn

up and over 

the crescent moon

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

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.