in tact

I took a pass
what little you offered
not nearly enough
what I wanted--needed
was an abundance
not just a little,
however well intended
still....
not enough, or even close

so, I sit here on my ranch
horses running free
like me
running from what was
or not meant to be
relishing the fact
that I got clean away
grace in tact
heart healed

you circle back
from time to time
not understanding that
what you thought
would last forever...
that you knew me that well
when in fact,
if you remember,
you didn't know me at all

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

grateful heart

thankful and blessed with all I have
belly full and loved ones about
laughing with friends, my heart is full
I take in what I give out

sun sets early, moon shines bright
weather warm, a patio dine
prepared food by hearts that give
mulling it over with fine white wine

every night before I sleep
I thank the Lord for all received
naming each with grateful heart
I wouldn't change a single thing

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

debris

you burned your bridge to light your path
not worrying about the aftermath
debris falls thickly all around
you knee deep on tilted ground

I guess you thought you could get by
the smoke and mirrors that you supplied
the sleight of hand another trick
you thought that it was pretty slick

manipulations, I see through
I played along to bolster you
but, however, I wasn't blind
knew I'd leave when I had time

the years have come and gone so quick
I don't miss what wouldn't fit
you gave up more than you could know
in your childish rush to go

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

nothing

Nothing compares with the feeling I get

The sound of your voice, 

the gleam in your blue eyes 

And that smile

I melt from your touch

Putty in your hands

That's me

No, nothing could ever compare

To what I've found

This life we share

Nothing could ever compare

To you

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

naming names

a good poem, talks in rhyme
you say it doesn't, that's just fine
generic reasons, draw them in
people think, it's all about them

a good poem, makes people think
smearing pages with dry ink
not a waste from where I sit
think the thoughts, make them fit

the one behind the slammed shut door
won't see themselves, in metaphors
but I write them just the same
without fault or naming names

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

put away

day after day turns into a month
three years in and we're still broke
tried to tell you how it'd be
before I left and set you free

time after time, the chances piled
in the corner dirty and worn
no mending that can fix this mess
it's just life, a great big test

we danced once and had some fun
dizzy from a board of tiles
one was truer, more than you
dancing better than you do

music ends, the partners leave
dance card full of better things
I told you it would come to this
and I was something that you'd miss

midwest summers come to end
winter comes and freezes it
in the mountain shadowed days
all those thoughts I've put away

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

the weight

I told you the day would come
the time would be right
not that I made light of it
thinking seriously
the pros and cons
the highs and lows
(although, you would state
no provocative reason
for the decision)

snip, snip, snip
I cut the tie
that long distant cord,
connecting, slender tether
gone...

proceeding forward,
heart--light
weight--gone
smiling and happy
with my choice

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

now and again

every now and again
when the wind is blowing just right
I hear the music playing
like it did our very first night
maybe it's just the mesquite
or the call of the nightingale
but I know I can hear it
and I think I always will

when billowy clouds are forming
in the eastern morning sky
I think I see you looking
with those crystal clear blue eyes
and if I squint mine tightly
I think I catch your wink
maybe it just the sun's glare
or you're closer than I think

I can smell the raindrops
and all the flowers that bloom
I can hear the music
that I first heard with you
I can hear you singing
in that perfect pitch
I still get the feeling
that I want much more of this

no longer are there messages
that you used to text
my phone no longer ringing
and this I truly miss
while you're slaying your dragons
mine won't leave me alone
you don't miss what you don't have
'cause you're not coming home

many things left here waiting
the papers are stacking up
no longer sharing coffee
you took your favorite cup
the dust settled on the floorboards 
with all you left behind
I could see our future
but I think that you were blind

I can smell the raindrops
and all the flowers that bloom
I can hear the music
that I first heard with you
I can hear you singing
in that perfect pitch
I still get the feeling
that I want much more of this

yes, I still get the feeling
that I want much more of this

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

lazy?

procrastination 

putting off till tomorrow

the stuff that you can

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

promise to keep

she wanders the house

from room to room

moonlight shines

in the dark gloom

a mist of a girl

from long ago

gone is everyting

she use'd to know

she checks on the family

all sound asleep

ponders, remembers

memories that seep

all faded now

like flowers that die

but when they sweep over

she mournfully cries

dawn breaks the clouds

she goes through the wall

doesn't know she's a spirit

she doesn't recall

eternity of guarding

the family that sleeps

this is her bidding

her promise to keep

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

tender

you didn't need to answer
I already knew
that they were fools
for letting you go
taking away
more than what you offered
which was everything
crushing your soul
in the process
giving not much
of themselves
selfish, they were
I will tender
more than what is asked
subtracting any heartache
investing my love
with immense returns
in our future

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

shake it off

there's more to being a cowboy
than living way out west
wearing those wrangler jeans
and that funny, fringed suede vest
your Ariat cowboy boots
that white, straw cowboy hat
there's more to being a cowboy
we'll just see about that

you're never riding the range
don't even own a horse
that's not all it takes
I know this of course
you know nothing of roping
or how to dog a steer
those funny midwest ways
have made this very clear

you can call us ma'am
from morning until dusk
you can talk to cactus
while you're shaking off the dust
you can sing those country songs
with lyrics you don't know
but you are not a cowboy sir
you need to let that go

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

always

you stand in my corner
watching my back
and I know
no one can hurt me
nothing can touch me
they would have to
contend with you
always

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

coin toss

what happens now?
your future love secure
the shadow laying dormant
and the door left ajar
successful in separating
the fact from the fiction
without delving too deep
and causing more friction

one heart secure
the other wild and free
one strokes your mind
the other stokes your needs

you finally read the book
from cover to cover
solve all the mystery
see what's uncovered
the choice always yours
as you flip the quarter
is it heads or tails?
is it friend, is it lover?

one heart secure
the other wild and free
one strokes your mind
the other stokes your needs

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

wait and see

bright and shiny, like a new penny
strong and bitter like day old coffee
some say that, we're not better off
I say let's just wait and see

one can win, always a loser
there is nothing that you can do
root for one, despise the other
I say let's just wait and see

don't draw a line too deep in sand
don't turn your back on what we need
wait for the reason, before you scoff
I say let's just wait and see

healing may take a long time to come
what we need isn't that far off
I'm on board with ticket in hand
I say let's just wait and see

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

F word

that's right, I say it

sometimes when I'm so angry

the F word just works! 

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

coffee

as soon as it hits my bloodstream
my thoughts organize
the fog lifts from my brain
I am awake
my hands twitch
after the third
I don't care!
where would I be
if I didn't have
this magnificent
morning drug
a pick me up in the afternoon
a rev my engine miracle
ah, coffee!


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

the best thing

You were wearing a yellow shirt
sit next to me and we start to flirt
my favorite bar in my favorite town
life was dull before you came around

you're the best thing  I've ever done
two is better than only just one
I guess I knew right from the start
you'd be the one to steal my heart

my leg accidently touches your knee
a current of violent electricity
ravages my body and you feel it too
my mind spinning in this crowded room

you're the best thing that I've ever done
two is better than only just one
I guess I knew right from the start
you'd be the one to steal my heart

I'm at a loss, should have known how'd be
truth be told, it's a two way street
I must admit I  don't understand
why I lose my head even holding your hand

you're the best thing that I've ever done
two is better than only just one
I guess I knew right from the start
you'd be the one to steal my heart

There's no explanation, or simple excuse
For intoxication I feel around you
during the day and from dusk till dawn
every month and all year long

you're the best thing that I've ever done
two is better than only just one
I guess I knew right from the start
you'd be the one to steal my heart

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

mon amour

voulez vous coucher avec moi ce soir
me tenir fermer et m’aimer
je vous donnerai toute ma passion
Je vous offre une durée de vie de l’amour
voulez vous coucher avec moi ce soir
tout ce que j’ai est le vôtre


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

all about you

it wasn't food I was hungry for
it was something with no calories
you would have expended them though
it was food for thought I needed
and as usual, I got what I wanted
thoughts as deep as Voltaire,
mind games
I can play them with the best
but you...you took my thoughts
tossing them aside as fruitless
nothing to do with you
when in fact, it WAS about you
always; every time;
all about you

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

very, very

if I had one cent
each time you said "I love you"
I would be wealthy

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

and more

you are my morning song
my evening prayer
the day to day wish
what I needed,
longed for;
hoped
wishes can come true
dreams become reality
all of this
I have with you
and more

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

clarity

clarity came not too long after
hanging like vines from wooden rafters
blowing gently to and fro
whispering it's time to go
go I did when the time was right
slipping gracefully into the night

blinded by faith, deaf to reason
the sun was hot and I was freezin'
catering to your every whim
the prognosis very grim
trying to wait out months of rain
left me pallid and in much pain

you didn't think I'd every leave
that you had all the time you'd need
I surprised you after all
exiting just before last call
using my brain and not my heart
I should've used it from the start

the puppeteer that held the strings
wonders what tomorrow brings
thinking 'bout grace and God and such
pondering if he gave too much
writing songs about what was
with only one left to applaud

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

Gone

I will not look behind me
I know you are still there
Where you belong
And where you shall stay
Even if I should lose 

whereI got to today...
Don't ask me to stop
Or back up
I refuse--won't do it
As the days grow older
Months fading  to years
Hearts weaken and wonder
Memories thick as flies on honey
Don't wait for me or look for me
I am gone

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

hues

time is ticking slowly on the clock upon the wall
people wander aimlessly, don't understand at all
I only take a minute, press speed dial when I call
my baby doesn't answer, my spirit starts to fall

I know you told me 'bout your plans, but I was in a hurry
just to get to work on time you know I had to scurry
all the reasons that you gave at this time are so blurry
a million thoughts race through my mind so now I start to worry

rainy streets are empty, as I hasten across town
somehow I have this feeling, that I have let you down
my brows are knit together, my lips are one big frown
I pray I'm overthinking and that everything is sound

your truck is in the driveway, the house is dark as pitch
I turn my key inside the lock, fumble with the switch
I'm ready to apologize for being such a bitch
sort it out like laundry, eliminate this glitch

there you are so peacefully, sleeping under covers
I wonder what you're dreaming, laying there in slumber
of all the many winters, and our wonderful summers
even as you rest there, it's my name that you still mumble

quietly, I get undressed and climb in next to you
wondering about the reason that I'm feeling oh so blue
your arms reach out to hold me, what you say is nothing new
all is right within your arms as evening shows its hues

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