Cowboy

I’m lookin' for a cowboy 

With, boots, hat and a horse 

The kind that doesn’t line dance 

Do real cowboys do that? 

Tall and lean and muscular 

From ridin' the range all day 

Ropin', brandin', workin' hard 

Always fences to mend 

Yeah, there’s something about a cowboy 

And romancin' under the moon 

He can sweep me off my feet 

Or maybe use a lasso 

We’ll get in his pickup 

Or maybe we can ride double 

I can ride in front of him 

So he can keep me from fallin’  

At the end of a long hard day 

His boots tucked under my bed 

He’ll fulfill my fantasies 

Just please don’t call me ma’am!

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

Filed Away

Now the drawer is finally shut 

The ghosts are laid to rest 

All the memories filed away 

The bad along with the best 

The thoughts don’t come now everyday

Only every once in a long while 

Something that trips a trigger 

Makes me remember and smile 

Each piece of you is in my past 

Finally, I’ve moved on 

Didn’t know if it would ever happen 

But you are completely gone 

Starting new, starting fresh 

Get on with my life 

A world of possibilities 

A new world to contrive

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

moot

I wonder how it feels 

as the chalk is rubbed away 

to know that what you mean 

is exactly what you say 

the words hang there like cobwebs 

heavy in a dusty room 

serving as a shelter

protecting like a womb 

there's a shadow on the floor 

a taped outline of truth 

and what you heard was me 

although my point was moot

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

secrets

that hidden place 

where secrets go

a tiny room 

only lovers know 

latent time 

where I have no will 

a memory that 

is hard to kill 

we dance the dance 

and sing a tune 

off kilter 

and a bit off key 

in the next life 

we might get it right 

but for a while 

it served its need 

you scratch a heart 

into a dead tree 

initials there 

for you and me 

and if no one 

is there when it bleeds

are there sound waves

amongst the trees

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

perception

a one sided perception 

in the mirrored reflection 

feelings that get penned 

when I feel hemmed in 

always the same direction 

about a heart's inflection

rain that just won't stop 

and potholed riddled blacktops

not looking for resurrection 

or scattered, raw affections 

just looking to make sense 

using a different tense

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

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

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

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 

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

one kiss (M)

is not a promise

it is more like a thank you

nothing more than that

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

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"

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

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 

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

if I

got paid commissions 

for the times you made me blue 

I could quit my job 

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

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

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

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 

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

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...

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

sssshhhhh

it was the silence 

the gift you gave most often

that brings reckoning

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

tunes

birds happily chirp 

windchimes are playing their tune 

morning sounds are best :)

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