magician

my heart bleeds before you 

you do not see 

or choose to overlook; 

oblivious to my wounds 

how can you be so blind? 

how can you be so detached? 

how could I have been such a fool? 

smoke and mirrors 

sleight of hand, 

a magician twisting my fate

I stumble out of the darkness 

of this relationship 

into the blinding light of day 

the fog clearing from my mind, 

perspicacious once again

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

Things You Taught Me (JPB)

High peaks and low valleys of a relationship 

About money 

About investing 

How to fillet fish 

Passion 

Anger 

Retail 

Shrewdness when buying a car 

Trust

Distrust 

Love

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

Cat and Mouse

Play a game of cat and mouse 

Following your lead 

Is there potential danger?

Following at full speed 

Sometimes going slowly 

Sometimes way too fast 

You are always leading 

I follow unsurpassed 

You think you are a master

A master to this sport 

Teasing and provoking 

A flirting prince consort 

Are you really thinking 

That I am your prey?

It is I that am the cat 

It’s really double play

disturbing

the cold wind whips 

down the mountainside 

stirring leaves 

blowing dust 

disturbing things 

once settled

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

wild night

you walk up 

ask me to dance 

see if I might want to

take a chance 

I can tell by the look 

there in your eye 

this just may be 

one wild night

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

flash

unsuspecting flash
tells me I travel too fast
too late to slow down

love lottery

where the darkness once surrounded 

light sifts through each tiny crack 

where the monsoon rained for days 

Eden's greenery now remains 

what I thought was gone forever 

returns much sweeter than before 

on display for all to see 

like winning the love lottery 

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

twilight

explore mind and soul 

hands travel a path they know 

love lingers after

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

without beginning or end

in the whisper of the wind 

as leaves of color fall 

the afternoon shadows stretch 

reaching skinny and tall 

skipping cracks in the sidewalk 

hopscotching to avoid bad luck 

laughter fills the empty void 

of conversation when we're stuck 

desperately we hold on to

what little that we have left 

thinking if we don't look hard 

we can continue to drift 

how do we get back to there? 

that safe place we used to be

when distance isn't the only thing 

that's keeping you from me 

as the time slips quickly away 

we kiss and part once more 

each time a little more difficult 

and different from the time before 

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

look closely

baby, I couldn't let you down 

you can put your trust in me 

I will never make you blue 

if you look closely you will see 

my love is pure...my heart is full 

it's all because of you 

what you give rests easy 

and you know this is true 

there aren't any stormy nights 

here where our love dwells 

no thunder nor bright lightning 

just moonlit nights and sunny days 

I believe in miracles 

each one a shining star 

like the ones glowing in my night 

and burning white-hot in my heart

baby, I won't let you down

you can rest here easy with me

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

within reach

the moon lays buried 

where solitude expands

I'm gazing at billboards

and broken lines on asphalt

all lead away from the past 

I'm longing for the morning 

to rise upon the hills 

I can't get the speed I need 

but I'm still shifting gears 

while watching for the sunrise

and blue sky days ahead 

I sink within the darkness 

I rise with each new sun

knowing the pivotal point I'll reach 

before this day is done

it will shrink here in the rear view 

and that's all I will leave 

better for having been there

but much too proud to stay 

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

it's just like this

it's just like this 

it all stays in here 

with just one kiss

it all becomes clear 

like the flower that blossoms 

like the tide that ebbs 

like a small insect captured 

in love's intricate web 

for all that was 

and what's yet to be 

all that's ahead 

that cannot be seen 

my heart's revolution 

as you pump through my soul 

fragmented sections 

now once again whole 

it's just like this 

it all stays in here 

with just one kiss 

it all becomes clear 

like the flower that blossoms 

like the tide that ebbs 

like a small insect captured 

in love's intricate web

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

my sea

come with me 

to my sea

let's make love 

on my beach 

living on love 

day and night 

ebb and flow sand and tide

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

bio

you're studying my bio 

hearing every word 

committing it to memory 

like there could be a quiz 

asking the right questions 

delving into my depths 

this is just the beginning 

of a very long playing song 

you text me pictures of flowers 

saying they look like me 

a photo of the sunset 

the moon rising 

on our horizon 

you're giving me the rush 

the best I've ever seen 

and this time I'm not running 

his time I believe 

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

a scarlet heart

highs and lows 

of a loved that glowed

the ins and outs 

of what I know

darkness and light, 

day to night 

candles extinguished 

that once burned bright 

open my lips 

and speak the words 

I love you floats

and is unheard 

always here 

for you to see

a scarlet heart 

worn on my sleeve

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

monsoon

the sky is angry
the pending eye of the storm
flashes brilliant lightning
its voice booming thunder
letting loose...
torrential rains falls
cooling the earth,
watering all living things
plant and animal alike
granting us
a beautiful rainbow
when its rath is spent

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

my heart

I kept a close watch
on my heart
knowing, it couldn't be trusted
to make wise decisions
I purged all the bad,
the self-serving
thinking of themselves
and not me...
when you came along
thinking with the brain
God has given
I could see us....
not just you or I
my heart saw us too

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

spell

no one told me when to run

was it with full moon

or the warm sun?

I knew when 

the time was right

and ran full bore

under the moon's light

tired of waiting

staying home

while you ran wild

the one to roam

the time did drain

like sand in glass

I knew that soon

I couldn't come back

far away, across the field

once more love

refused to yield

the tolling of 

the iron bell

cancels out

your once cast spell

it's funny how 

the rain did stop

and how I finally

got on top

of all the tunes

that droned and played

where once we loved

what went away

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

kissed

your love is perfection
a confection I can not live without
sweeter than anything
I have ever or will ever taste

this union flies a flag
our castle surrounded
by a treacherous moat
to keep infringement away

I will dwell in this love forever;
in the arms of bliss
kissed by angels
and blessed by God

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

sympathy for the devil

no sympathy for the devil
though once an angel too
oh the heartache that he caused me
the misery I went through
the pain of separation
thought each time the last
but like the celestial boomerang
he just kept coming back

I turned and strolled away from him
I tried to turn him off
I'd start feeling loneliness
and head back to the trough
filling my head with nonsense
sometimes it even rhymed
reading myself into it
each and every time

no, sympathy I won't give you
morality was my fate
it's not that I don't like you
or border as far as hate
it's just that in the morning
that mirror where I look
is tired of knowing sadness
from that rhyming re-read book

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

thin mints

thin mints, thin mints
what a crock
go ahead eat the
whole damn box
you won't loose a
single pound
standing up or
sitting down
in fact the opposite
is true
step on the scale
it'll make you blue
Girl Scouts know
when they push
their wares
you will gain it
everywhere!!!

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

what I know

tore down the drive-in
built a strip mall
the pasture paved
since early fall
where I rode my bike
when I was a kid
has 12 foot walls
and is well hid

nature's wonders
has a fee
you now pay for
what was free
the roller rink
is now long gone
no longer music
or our fave song

Stockdale road where
I raced my Chevy
water all gone
from the deep levy
days of youth
a memory
hangs thick today
in my sensory

Friday dates
and football games
many friends with
forgotten names
days of wonder
long ago
wish I knew then
what I now know

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

at risk

taken as someone

who once gave a damn

living each day

with all that I am

brilliant in morning

dull now by noon

whispers in shadows

that end way too soon

you taught me of love

but held me at bay

singing your song

your heart betrayed

nothing but wisdom

comes from your brain

and still I'm transfixed

by each new refrain

once more we parted

once more I swayed

knowing I wasted

so many a day

what could I do?

when truth held no reason

when trust was at risk

heartbreak now in season

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

evolved

the wind at my back, cool breeze on my face
shoes click-clack as I wander this place
living this life praying for good days
boxing up the old stuff, stowing it all away
looking for truth to a mirage of questions
breathing in the dust from past misconceptions

narrow is the road that is paved with the truth
wide is the trail that leads me to you
I listen to that voice, here deep inside of me
whispering of sweetness but doesn't set me free
the sand holds footprints, swept clean by the tide
the moon that glows reflects where it resides

I yearn for something, hope that's undeterred
what a dream promises, when the morning sun blurs
still I have reasons--why I've held to the past
knowing deep down that it wasn't built to last
the answers to the questions stay unresolved
there is no gestation, when love does not evolve

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

questions

questions burn
pages turn
still some secrets
I must learn

behind, our past
don't look back
nothing there
but smoke and ash

still, the dreams
my mind screams
waylaid answers
I get it seems

in between
crisp, fresh sheets
love starts over
for you and me

one more time
it's all fine
still I wonder
if your heart's mine

sed under a Creative Commons Attribution-Noncommercial-No Derivative Works 3.0 United States License