more than you

saddled my horse and spurred him hard
I rode fast and I rode far
through the plains in dead of night
now the mountains at last in sight

over my shoulder, vast terrain
nothing lost and nothing gained
alone again to still my thoughts
and all the worries that they've brought

too many tabs all at the same time
what is yours and what is mine
separate hearts that beat the same
never a winner of this rigged game

take them all and leave me blue
lying here thinking just of you
not on bottom or at the tip
more than you I always quip

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

it doesn't matter

shadows fade into night stillness
no boundaries mar the thin red edge
all is calm in the realm of dreams
nightmares in the bedside drawer

closed eyes move in REM
dawn breaks hot, another day
monsoons off, a month away
awake I stretch and then I yawn
as I smell the aroma
daybreak offers

many things I need to do
one more cup will get me through
no longer, my first thoughts of you
how you are; will we talk?
that no longer matters

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

forever ties

not always truthful
hedging your bet?
what you give is
what you'll get
a little sugar
goes with the lie
that's not the pull
to forever ties

I'd rather you say
I think, I'll check
then brush it off
that dusty speck
I'd rather know
then have to guess
at what is now
and not regress

I know you
your sordid past
all the heartache
you amassed
still you bring it
home to roost
you never learned
what it induced

problems brought
upon yourself
all dusty from
that nasty shelf
haunt me as the hours fly
as I don my wits
to get me by

if you leave it 
lying around
eventually,
it will be found
hurt with truth
and with its pain
nothing lost
is everything
gained
Poetry by M.J.B. is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-Noncommercial-No Derivative Works 3.0 United States License

nothing left to say

each sunrise holds promise
quiet rapture before he spoke
not thinking, the words spill out
too late to reconsider
the mess you have made
no mopping it up now

she listens,
not hearing the anger
but the very frustrations
that brought them here
sitting on this porch
together

but each is alone
although they sit side by side
not touching, not feeling
no reply from her
unusual at best
but there's nothing left to say

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

the gecko

push-ups on concrete
to the tune of “macho man”
then you slink away

together

in a matter of seconds, you were gone
taking all of your stuff
except what was inside of me

sometimes, I wonder if you are happy
a better life without me
I did my best

do you think of our times together?
when life wasn't perfect
but we were together...

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

His path

long before I met you
erst, while we were looking
I had almost given up
thinking there was no one
who could complete me
at this stage of life

I should have had optimism
into the insight  He has
the plans He provides
for each of us
to live our lives
following His path

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

a coffee song

I don't know how the apology went
words like sand in thick cement
stirred too quickly like your passion
in hap-hazard and hidden fashion
convoluted and  oh so strong
a coffee song

an inkblot, just a little blight
a time-warp in this so called life

stirring wood--campfires blaze
bringing memories of other days
mountains high, saguaro green
forgetting pasts and what they mean

an inkblot, just a little blight
a time-warp in this so called life

it's all over; the fat lady sang
a cowboy song with country twang
no one really understood
that shroud you wore, it did no good
for a man with wordy depth 
I took the blame and then I left
 
an inkblot, just a little blight
a time-warp in this so called life

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

absorption

I lived in your darkness
cavernous as it was
all the while,
you absorbed my light
dimming me,
I couldn't see
this was so
I stumbled, blindly
trying to find my path
back to the way it was,
the way I was
without letting go...
the fatal blow
to keep meandering
trying to see
inside your shroud

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

abyss

would you tell me 

if I'm on the right path? 

have we lost it all? 

can we get it back?

did I miss the connection? 

the phone didn't ring 

the face is black

on the small little screen 

no words come 

nothing do I hear 

slipping into the abyss

just like I feared

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

up for the job

he stretches full length

up for the job before him 

then he goes to sleep

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

like glue

one road ends

as another bends 

a battle wages

from different cages 

mind and soul

travel high and low 

on each new chart 

ne'er a sign marks 

you do your best

forsaking the rest

relationships fade 

some friends may evade 

pulling loose threads 

draining your last dregs 

but after all we've been through

I'm stick like glue 

believing what you say 

as everlasting truth

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

in my eyes

window to the soul 

shows what you already know

opened with your love

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

two hearts

my mind works on overload
not much more can it now hold
my heart bleeds from all it knows
not enough to make me go

questions rise, the answers weak
not always what I actually seek
is this doomed, is it too bleak?
what lies really underneath

you pledge your love, holding tight
passion holds us through the night
but it’s still there in the daylight
20/20 is hindsight

in this vortex spinning round
trying to salvage all I’ve found
will I reach the higher ground
do you leave me here to drown?

escape

this the thin line that I walk
this mindset that cannot talk
I can no longer block it out
this blackness and shrouded doubt

going forward each new day
hoping it will fade away
that I find all that I seek
that it doesn't escape me

thoughts that grow are kinda random
overtake with reckless abandon
trying again not to overthink
ideas that are drenching me

but it sometimes overflows
this love with its rich, bright glow
can you make it turn out right?
restoring what will cause this blight

it is

it is with great depth we both play
it is with heart that I feel my way
it is with sadness trust evades
it is with hope it comes and stays

it is with chance a tomorrow looms

it is with mirth this crowded room

it is with heart a new love blooms

it is both ways I do assume?

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

quits

I called it quits 

when I hung up the phone

figured I was better

going at it alone

like a tumbleweed once here

now windblown and gone

more heartache from you

than I'd ever known

go to the closet

for my traveling shoes

pack a few things

leave the rest for you

maybe the closure

will leave me a bruise

next time I'll be

more careful who I choose

it'll take me some time

to rebuild my heart

I knew this before

the decision to depart

but ours was a love

tired from the kickstarts

always the understudy

never the lead part

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

always of you

in the lateness of the hour
after the sunlight fades to dusk
the moon rises high above the clouds
my last thought before sleep is you

dreams evade but sleep prevails
I rise early, as the dawn breaks
your side empty, a pillow unused
my first thoughts, always of you

whether you're here, or not by my side
whether your arm is around me or not
I know your thought is of me too
whether you can see me or not

bling

I don’t need bling
or a lot of flash
not looking for things
that will cost you cash
the thing I want
my only need
is your whole heart
and the love it brings

I don’t need flowers
or bouquets delivered
the ones on my phone
will last forever
just need you here
cause you want it that way
that’s what I want 
much more each day

really??

a very small dose
what you think will soothe me most
you still don't know me

all I know

all the old reasons are gone
faded like old photographs
a distant memoir
of what once was

we make new memories
I have little keepsakes,
ticket stubs and such
tokens, that mean so much

each remind me
of how we got here
to this place in our lives
where happiness
is all I know
Poetry by M.J.B. is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-Noncommercial-No Derivative Works 3.0 United States License

simpatico

we are simpatico
in every sense of the word
you speak my thoughts
and I speak yours
my feelings are shared
your touch gentle
your kiss,
deep

yes, we are truly simpatico
in every sense of the word

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

tis the season

in the cool, dawn morning we walk
thigh high weeds
uneven terrain
field glasses ready
we hunt

the game changes
depending on the season
always, we two
walking and searching
rifles on our shoulders

deer season--we see javelina
javelina season--deer
no rhyme or reason
but together...
we hunt

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

I just know

there is nothing ordinary
common or mundane
anything that is average
since the day I took your name
from the day I met you
going back to that first time
my life changed forever
when I stepped across that line
all the walls I'd built up
bruises began to heal
electric when you touch me
and you are all I feel
quickly, is how it happened
I don't know why still
I just know I love you
and I always will

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

oh, yes

good at all you do
loving is your specialty
I'm a lucky girl

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