Monday, March 21, 2022

20/20

conclusions drawn in crimson
they're the hardest to erase 
as is seeps from every pore 
pooling on tile like waste 
I guess that some would say
it has a bitter aftertaste 

it shrouds like a hooded cape
never quite fading away 
it's there in all of my dreams 
remaining here when I wake 
gnawing like a critter 
that is trying to satiate 

is it all illusion? 
a cruel magician's trick 
a smoke and mirrors side-show 
the sleight of hand is quick 
with one quick glimpse it goes 
now you see it, then you've tripped 

it's a double edged sword
that I have fallen and I curse
it's the fickle hand of fate 
and maybe it could be worse
the whole thing has me pondering 
if I could have changed the course 

hindsight is 20/20 
you don't need glasses to see
maybe with cleaner lenses
 you could avoid the trees
it's hard to change directions 
in the middle of what will be

parking lot

you've been circling for hours 
trying to find a small space 
where all the pieces fit 
you'll park the remaining trace 
the electric arm went up 
you got a ticket at the gate 
but the lot is way too full 
this wasn't anticipated 
the choices are keep it with you 
or driving around and waiting 

one kiss (M)

is not a promise
it is more like a thank you
nothing more than that

Saturday, March 19, 2022

I love you

it's moving much too fast 
no time to stop and reflect 
before it's time to go 
I'm in up to my neck 
I can't think for myself 
reasoning just won't do 
my mind spins on its axis 
my thoughts are far from few 

everyone is wanting something 
I think there is nothing left 
I am dusting off my soul 
my spirit has started to drift 
my heart is palpitating 
trying to figure out what to do 
I can't remember a day 
when I didn't have the blues 

I start to make a list 
by the light of the crescent moon
listing all the ways
that you left me the blues
still I write it down
what else is there to do 
and scrawled across the top 
it starts with "I love you"

yesterday's news

it happens every time 
I didn't sign on for this 
here between the lines 
in happiness and reminisce 
I fell for all your charms 
I melt in your abyss 
sometimes it implodes 
c-4 taking down the shell 
touch and taste it all 
look deep where it all dwells 
you can stop this spinning
as you bid your fond farewell 
publish it in the papers 
yesterday's news will sell 

I believe

I will be happy 
this I believe
I'll meet someone 
who loves only me 
he'll chase away the clouds
and bring me only sun 
poetic verse in love songs 
dancing when the day is done 
this I believe 
this I believe
this I believe

Friday, March 18, 2022

all/part

it's all part of believing 
that it can come to you 
more than that, it's what's in my heart 
that I want to share with you 
it's all part of my giving 
and I'm giving it all to you 
more than love it's a way of loving 
and what it could bring to you

flailing

there are angels on the water 
spirits in every wave 
and if it washes over me 
it may sanctify and cleanse 

my heart is at the ocean
there is turbulence in my thought 
but the angels walking on water 
may not relieve this pain 

the heavy truth sinks like a stone 
and falsehoods are the swells 
I'm going through the motions 
and flailing in this hell

video

once I made a video 
I'm dancing to a tune 
I can dance all by myself 
or I can dance with you 

once I wrote a love song 
from feelings that you knew 
I can sing it to myself
or I can sing it to you

Thursday, March 17, 2022

if I

got paid commissions 
for the times you made me blue 
I could quit my job 

phone

I don't carry it in my pocket 
don't sleep with it by my bed 
it doesn't flash and it doesn't ring 
I think the battery's dead

all that I am

I am the sunrise in the morning 
the moon and stars at night 
a loving heart to guide you 
a candle you can light 
I will give you all of that 

I am the breeze blowing down the mountain
a gentle rain that brings relief
I am the song playing in your head 
and this you should believe 
I will give you all of that 

I am the whisper of love arriving 
soft footsteps in the sand 
a shadow watching over
if you will take my hand
I will give you all of that 

long ago

once you held me safe and warm 
through lightning flashes, monsoon storms 
love songs played and so we danced 
hearts in tune that took a chance 

long ago fades quickly away 
embers burned, ash remains
things my heart once used to know 
diminish now to afterglow
 
but my love yearns to remember...

Wednesday, March 16, 2022

war

I gain my strength
from battles I wage
one after another
day after day
minute upon minute
I learn strategy
and on I will fight
my most gallantly
the highs and the lows
the times in-between
from the peaks and the valleys
and now dried up streams
from where I once went
down the paths I must go
there's no holding back
till I strike final blows
Creative Commons License
Poetry by M.J.B. is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-Noncommercial-No Derivative Works 3.0 United States License

drift

I drift 
on a splinter from a bridge 
the sliver that missed your heart

wonderland

in this wonderland, wonder wanders 
in this dreamlike state, dreams drift 
in this fantasy-land, fantasy fades 
in this promise-land, promise ponders 
as it floats away on a cloud 
the sun shines on a barren memory 
rain falls on concrete 
love, loves itself 
more than it loves me

Tuesday, March 15, 2022

ocean breeze

love lingers lost in black clouds, 
stormy skies 
in the empty chambers of the heart 
silence echoes, soundless waves in the air 
escaping your spirit, raining down on me 
liquid silver drops pelt from heaven
fog hangs heavy on violent seas
as seduction buries itself 
like a crab in the sand 
waiting for the ocean breeze 
to blow them away

love

how do I move it? 
from yesterday to today
from there to here 
from was to is 
from fantasy to real 
from once to now 
from you to new

sssshhhhh

it was the silence 
the gift you gave most often
that brings reckoning

tunes

birds happily chirp 
windchimes are playing their tune 
morning sounds are best :)

Monday, March 14, 2022

self portrait

with calm and turmoil
I paint my canvass
guts and grit
dripping from my brush 
I paint boldly
with courage and trust
and when it is dry
it is a self portrait
Creative Commons License
Poetry by M.J.B. is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-Noncommercial-No Derivative Works 3.0 United States License

kodachrome

saw you in a photograph 
we met on a crowded street 
I didn't recognize your face
but my heart skipped a beat 

my defenses crumbled 
the wall fell at your feet 
knowingly you step around 
as you made a hasty retreat 

how quickly it all changes 
like the seasons full of treason 
under trance of circumstance 
I'm left without rhyme or reason 

saw you in a photograph 
we met on a crowded street 
I didn't recognize your face 
but my heart sure skipped a beat

play

an incomplete pass 
I see it as it spirals 
I am a good catch

a song of forever

sing me a song of forever
a slow waltz that we can dance to 
not for a minute or few hours 
but a lifetime with me and with you 

read me a story about loving 
about how it was lost and then found 
make it a happily ever after 
a book that I just can't put down 

tell me again that you love me 
touch me as only you can 
at the end of the day, as the sun fades
show me so I understand

Sunday, March 13, 2022

mountaintop

on a desert mesa
coyotes howl at the moon 
rattlesnakes slither under rocks 
looking for warmth when it cools

scorpions saunter aimlessly 
looking for prey to sting 
mountain lions search for their next meal 
on turf where they are king 

every cactus, every living plant 
has brambles that cut when touched 
all of these dangers, and many more 
live on God's mountaintop