you

you, the one that I desire
fuel, thrown on a white hot fire
burning, slowly higher and higher
erasing, all those that were here prior

you, a light that shines on me
a  sea, that flows upon my beach
into shadows, far in you reach
showing, all that we can be

you, the one that holds me close
hiding, things I want to know
flickering, brightly the candle glows
wax, forms thick, and pools below

you, ease my mind, sooth the pains
losing, ground with what I gain
sun, shining after the monsoon rain
you remain—you remain

please move on

my world didn't shake or even tremor
I guess yours did, as you remember
the heart wants what the heart wants
it didn't work, please move on

after three months, I think I know
what is to be or just won't happen
I gave it a shot for longer than I aught
I'll take the blame, please move on

it may make you happy to see me pained
with nothing lost or nothing gained
it's my life--to do as I wish
you didn't fit, please move on

after several years, you still lurk
saying I'm callous--or even worse
in your mind, I did you wrong
sorry about that, please move on

the hurt inside can eat you alive
find another and get on by
comments hurt, as you intended
I posted, you see, please move on

let me be a fond memory
or maybe a ghost from a bad dream
what you think, what you feel
if I did you harm, please move on

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

run

What doesn't kill me
Better run and hide away
I will hunt you down

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

quantam mechanics

you are there and here 

although 

quantum mechanics state differently...

this is true 

at night when the moon glows silently 

and stars light the way 

for those at sea 

my heart kisses you goodnight, 

wherever you are

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

draw the line

draw the line, make it deep 

separate fiction from the facts 

divide the longing and the yearning 

from your heart's desire 

draw the line, make it clearer 

let the sun dissipate the fog 

watch the shroud fall to your feet 

or forever hide in shadow 

as love passes you by

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

if

if you can't feel it 

if you can't see it 

that doesn't mean 

it it isn't there 

if you can' taste 

it if you can't think it 

that doesn't mean 

it isn't there 

if you can't say it 

if I don't repeat 

that doesn't mean 

it isn't there

 

if I can write it 

if you can read it 

catch the meaning 

of all that's here

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

I'll walk, thanks

nowhere fast,

that is where we were heading
you insist on driving
me with eyes closed
riding shotgun
thinking we would get there
anywhere, eventually
but I was wrong

an abrupt stop
dislodging me from my focus
shaking it up
doors opened
we got out
one of us
decided to walk

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

my heart

I can't tell anymore,
where I stop and you begin
every beat of my heart is you
pumping through my veins
your love, the adrenaline
that keeps me going
every waking moment
all of my thoughts of you

what are your thoughts?
are they only for me?
you used to say...
I was perfect for you
is this still true?
am I your one and only
or your here and now?

I meant every promise I made
every truth I wrote for you
every line in every work
nothing more...nothing less
am I unworthy of a promise?
a written testament just for me
speak now with flowing pen

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

hard and fast

I've played the market
played the field
been a widow
know how it feels
hard and fast
now, I kneel
you walked in and
shit  got real 

there you stood
in a yellow shirt
looking my way
oh, what a flirt
spilled my drink
all over my skirt
you were gonna love me
or make me hurt

buy you a drink?
the tall one said
I didn't need one
to go to my head
you'd look great
layin' across my bed
another notch?
or a golden thread

pretending was never
a game I played
always up front
with the words I laid
didn't take long,
I knew right away
my future was written
all over your face

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

yes

 I closed my eyes, you opened your hand
the promise of our life together
sparkling, in the box

solitaire excitement  
all things new and wonderful

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

dark and night

I got lost in the midst of your riddle 

miles away caught in the middle 

while you struggled and tried to fight

against a heart laid on the line 

I took one chance and spilled my guts

thought I'd seep in through the cuts 

it echoed against a solid wall 

bouncing like a rubber ball 

don't feel bad, it's not your fault 

I couldn't penetrate your vault

the difference as plain as dark and night 

you always saw what I couldn't hide 

it all frays, that once thick tether 

duct tape couldn't hold us together 

time moves on and I think its settled 

then back it comes like a wilted petal 

it could be a dream or monsoon rain 

the phases of the moon or a song's refrain 

it churns and surfaces once again 

that old heartache--my long lost friend

don't feel bad, it's not your fault 

I couldn't penetrate your vault

the difference as plain as dark and night 

you always saw what I couldn't hide 

 

it all frays, that once thick tether 

duct tape couldn't hold us together

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

always, never

I know the very things I see
still, you keep surprising me
in and outside of the lines
edges never exactly defined
a blurry black and white not framed
it's always never quite the same

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

poetry

it's not poetry
I write what I am feeling
and sometimes it rhymes

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

happy

mountains majesty
only blue sky surrounds me
God’s grace shining down

down and out

I found you when you were down and out
your soul with holes and inside doubt
the prayers you said with your rosary
couldn't stop that deep, deep bleed

looking through like I wasn’t there
took what I offered, refusing to share
I stayed beside you—held your hand
helped you try to understand

the closer you got, the further away
holding me close yet still at bay
I warmed your lust, but not your heart
you told me from our very start

the tables turn, I place no blame
on love’s defeating, haughty game
words don’t come in any form
at night when I lay safe and warm

I always knew you wouldn’t miss
any form of a vacant kiss
always reading yesterday’s news
it is just the publisher’s views

I

I dream not…
of that long past
of stormy sky
and aftermath
of moonless nights
and starry schemes
of what was never
as it seemed

I think not…
of thoughts left blue
of black and white
in hazy hues
of borders crossed
and passports stamped
with a nod of the head
and lips tight clamped

I see not…
what could have been
if you had only
let me in
seeing with your eyes
not with your heart
acting the role
but never the part

I tasted wine...
so bittersweet
what I sowed
was what I reaped
after time
it mattered not
memories fade
and are forgot

stolen bliss

kisses from a fantasy 

moments of stolen bliss 

cold nights return to haunt you 

when you dream back on this

memory betraying feeling 

in the hole were buried deep 

when you explore the options 

and out the sieve it seeps 

trying to piece it together 

trying to find a missing link 

but it all won't reassemble 

no matter what you think 

 the very things that attract you 

oppression that holds you back 

salvation eludes your conscience 

your soul falters from attack 

the bridge that led to tomorrow 

the smoke still in the air

thinking of returning 

stranded with what's not there

too long your thoughts did falter

bout what was real or lies

and now your left here wishing

you'd dropped what you disguised

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

good morning

how long have you been watching?

oblivious as I sleep snoring softly, 

maybe not 

your arm tight around me as I stir

I stretch and yawn in the early darkness 

deep blue eyes looking into sea green 

me: "good morning, baby!" 

my hair, tangled and black mascara smudges 

under my lashes 

breath not as sweet from hours of sleep 

I stretch full length, rolling into your arms 

green eyes looking into deep blue 

you: "good morning, beautiful"

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

something

you've touched something;

something that hasn't been touched for some time 

deep inside it rested--

sleeping, waiting

it stirs and stretches 

coming to life 

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

put it to rest

it fades to a shimmer 

there in the west

another day gone

put it to rest

was it all that you dreamed

or somehow lacking

try it tomorrow

without all the hassles

brushing my teeth

fore I climb into bed

prop up the pillows

for my aching head

pick up my book

the nightlight is on

the doors are locked

this day is done

relaxing, retrieving

the place I left off

a kiss from my hubby

before I dose off

a couple of chapters

is all I can read

my eyes are now heavy

and I drift off to sleep

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

what do I do

what do I do with what I know?
thoughts overgrown with thick, green mold
ghosts of those who once stayed close
black and whites now overexposed
they hang still, on hallowed walls

what do I do with what once was?
portraits blurred; out of focus fuzz
you say forget them, just because
too many that caused such a buzz
they know more than they will tell

what do I do with what's within?
to the sea I confess most sins
all these waves could do me in
will I drown or will I swim
they wash still on sandy shores

what do I do with constant thought?
all the pain and tears it brought
is it for real of just for naught
my heart ensnared and tightly caught
they matter not, they matter not

one more lonely dream

the things that I can’t fathom
the thoughts that rest here deep
I’m laying low and waiting
as those bullets whiz past me
it’s those little things that wounded
those moments I can’t see
can we reach the pinnacle
or all that we can be?

imagination covers
too heavy in this heat
you try to pull the blanket off
I roast in the hot seat
the gash that will not stop
my mind continues to seep
nothing stops the heartache
of a heart that will still bleed

we lay down here together
as usual I don’t sleep
your hand rests on my body
no comfort there for me
it flows out with the current
a bottle floating at sea
coming back to haunt  this room
just one more lonely dream

leave it where it lays

I will try to leave it there
that place history belongs
a blank page of days gone by
throw some sod over it
nothing will grow
barren trees stand with many limbs
ghosts of old memories

move on from there
leave it where it lays
quips like barbs
tear my mind
it is not healthy
nothing good can grown
from those by-gone times

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

red-sky seas

I hear your voice, just a whisper 

I hear you sing it one last time 

I could have sworn I heard you say 

"I loved you" then you turned away 

faded roses in your hand 

from the bed where they were strewn

petals wilted; turning brown 

fall through fingers to the ground 

I didn't see the things you saw 

didn't know that it was there

a heart escapes what's in the air 

the end to a tragic love affair

two lovers in the heat of night 

wait upon the sun to rise 

ships that sail under red-sky seas

 a love without a guaranty

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

DNR

a do not resuscitate 

no heroic measures taken 

a surgical cut deep into flesh 

crimson, flows the love

pooling on the pristine tile 

blood red on angelic white 

footsteps track across the floor 

spreading it from my heart's door 

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