Canyon

roaming the mountains and the desert floor 

sun high over head, I've been here before 

seeking the answers to the quandaries that plague 

no solutions forth coming-- my resolve diminishing 

and i shout in the canyon the question "WHY" 

and the echo returns  "the promises were lies" 

things that you did and things that you said 

keep ricocheting around inside of my head 

my steps are unsteady did I stray from the path?

thirsting for answers before I can go back 

and i shout in the canyon the question "WHY" 

and the echo returns "the promises were lies" 

the weariness is coming, I stumble and fall 

nothing to grab hold of, there's no help at all  

my direction now falters; which way should I go?

praying for guidance and praying to know 

and I shout in the canyon the question "WHY" 

the echo that returns "the promises were lies" 

heaven betrayed me hell opens it's door 

redemption can't find me on this desert floor 

I've burned all my bridges, hell's flames scorch at me 

there's just no way back--none that I'll ever see

and i shout in the canyon the question "WHY" 

the echo that returns "the promises were lies"

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

Withdrawal Haiku

No Mexico for years 

seems I am in withdrawal 

Do not approach me! 

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

Promises Fulfilled Haiku

The day was cold with rain 

promise held in many ways 

Promises fulfilled

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

Say The Words

Say the words 

Once more  

Incase there aren't more moments 

Incase I never see you again 

Say the words 

So I can keep them in my memory 

Incase the world spins out of control 

And all is lost 

Say the words 

So I can lock them in my heart

Remember you were here

a long time ago  

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

The Doorway (JPB)

I stand in the doorway 

seeing things I don’t want to see 

Events that will take you from me 

I stand in the doorway  

Knowing I can do nothing

My power diminished 

I stand in the doorway 

Alone, unsheltered, anguished 

Willing a change of events 

I stand in the doorway 

Watching and waiting 

Hoping for intervention

I stand in the doorway 

And watch you leave 

For the last time 

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

Casa By The Sea

In this casa on the beach 

A calm and rolling sea 

Sitting alone on the terrace 

Enjoying the peace it brings 

A perfect cup of coffee 

Alone, safe and secure

It is very early 

The sand is undisturbed 

Best time of the morning 

Contemplating life

No pulls, no tugs, no stressors 

Escape from all the strife 

Pull myself together 

Relax and just kick back 

The time I have here is too short 

But puts me back on track 

The peace I take when time to leave 

Doesn’t last that long 

But life here at the casa 

Though short, helps me stay strong

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

Radar Haiku

You fall off radar 

Are you in the Twilight Zone? 

Here's a life jacket

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

Work Haiku (Part Deux)

The moon rises full 

People are crazier then! 

Monday is a bitch 

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

air

oxygen and carbon dioxide 

breathe it in 

inhale the smell of passion 

let your senses overload 

drink me in 

 let the air go to your head 

close your eyes 

for one last taste lick 

your lips taste me there

breathe me in don't exhale

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

fear to tread

in my heart 

where love has fled 

a hedged bet 

with no point spread 

a hole that's deep 

a heart that bled 

a place where angels fear to tread 

in my heart 

that once knew love 

a full moon and stars above 

memories are displaced

without a love to grace 

a penciled note that's been erased

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

earthquake

you rocked my world

the aftershocks, tremendous 

tremors still felt

in my heart and soul

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

a

a simple game 

a lover's lair 

a cold spring day 

a love affair

a first hug 

a first kiss 

 a memory made 

a time of bliss

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

Heaven

would taste like your lips 

nirvana, the way I feel 

when I am with you

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

sand

sand in my hair 

and swimsuit seat 

but nothing here, 

can irritate me 

take a shower, 

wash it out 

I wish that worked 

with some of these doubts 

my hair streaks light 

from the salt and sun 

days end quick 

before they've begun

the moon glows bright 

in the evening sky 

hours always 

in short supply

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

easy to see

easy to see 

hard to believe?

it was always there 

worn on my sleeve

take it all 

it's not far to fall 

easy to see 

not hard to believe 

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

new look

I'm stripping it down 

to its raw beauty

 keeping what I like 

sanding off the rest 

applying a fresh coat 

refurbished love

refinished failures

shellacked  

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

duel

I'm calling you out 

a duel of sorts 

draw your weapon 

prepare your shot 

take careful aim 

cause I will too

 get ready, cowboy 

I'm gunning for you

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

yesterday's news

all the headlines 

such a bore 

yesterday's news 

always the same 

war, pestilence 

earthquake and fire 

a baby is born 

someone expires 

coffee cup in hand 

I bring the paper in 

wet, from morning rain

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

all

all I want is you 

all I think I want is you 

I think I may want you 

maybe I want you 

do I want you?

in the worse way

I want you!

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

blue is

the color of sky 

one of the primary eight 

juicy blueberries 

fathoms of the sea 

and the color of my soul

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

one by one

the breeze wafts in with a humming sound 

I can hear the music, but not the words 

I strain my ears, all I can hear 

is the pounding of my heart 

the sky is dark with so many birds 

filling the trees and telephone wires 

they screech a horrible ringing sound 

it resonates, vibrates, stealing my thoughts 

as the shrilling gets louder, I cover my dreams 

cause they won't be chased away 

they start to fall one by one

dying from thirst and the desert sun 

till one is left and the music flows sweet 

its message carried on the mountain breeze 

she opens her bill, and all I can hear 

is the sound of your love for me 

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

all in sweet time

so, it's not paradise 

but you can see it from here

all in sweet time like ivy it climbs 

all in sweet time 

don't waste a word or blink an eye 

don't say anything 

that can go unheard 

all in sweet time like a stairway it climbs 

all in sweet time 

your heart will win when the music begins 

open your heart let my song in 

all in sweet time like the waves that rise 

all in sweet time

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

feel the pull

in a valley, near the mountains
surveying all you think you've found
at this moment in time it shines sublime
a melody, it plays in your head
as you start to feel the pull
from the moon not quite full

on a wooden floor
where the cowboys dance
a shadow falls
from your tall stance
the reins are slipping
too loose in your hands
the iron is white hot
and ready to brand

where is your horse?
the shadow asks
you smile that smile
as you answer back
it's in my dreams
and you laugh that laugh
the shadow slips away
through the walls that are cracked

all these ideals
that play in your head
you figure it all out
from the books that you've read
the thoughts not closer
fill you up with dread
how much more time, how many chances
till you've been completely bled

you call on the moon
to tell you when
the shadow has left
after being fenced in
in the lunar light
fading, growing dim
you see it in the distance
and it carries like a hymn

hoof beats sounding
across a vast range
you ride through the night
it all seems so strange
you've made it at last
ready for the change
the past falls behind
your priorities rearranged

you feel the pull
your heart secure
you feel the pull

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

cupid's bow

I am wrong again! 

been so, once or twice before. 

I can tell ya the truth, 

although it may hurt, 

any answers my friend 

come from the same old questions

rendering, not what you expect

or even what your dreams foretold.

you; always waiting for an opportunity 

to reap what I have sowed 

I'll be leaving soon 

but not right this minute 

it's either too late or too early,

but I'll tell you one more story.

how aspirations have let me down 

while I plant these seeds of sadness 

in this desiccated, rock hard ground 

always watering and waiting

for fortification from their growth

I try to see where you are now. 

no longer manipulating the arrow from Cupid's bow 

he never could shoot straight 

his aim, horrendous!  

red shoes click on the yellow brick road  

as I walk its ends.

at a thorny wall as high as my dreams grew 

fantasy catapults me over as

real life brings a screeching halt, 

the truth slowly seeping in, 

lovers fading quickly to the past,

the seeds I planted 

rot instead of grow

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

between the lines

I sing the words 

between the lines 

the lyrics yours 

the music mine 

somehow, the beat 

is out of time 

and we can't dance

 cause you talk in rhyme 

someone cuts

as the tempo climbs 

the wine not sweet 

from the bitter vines

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