Lessons from Life

Friday, August 5, 2022

hollow point haiku

a hollow point,

it sounds so impersonal,

in the mag where lodged

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

Sixth sense

I’m reading you like

the current best seller

Nothing you can hide

Your eyes always tell

I can read your actions

and I can read your mind

Filling in the gaps

From the things that you hide

I can read the hesitation

Just tell me if I’m wrong

Usually dead on accurate

This curse is quite strong

So just be straight forward

Always better than a lie

My mind’s eye sees through

everything implied

The truth is your ally

Be concise and be real

Don’t hedge or taint facts

Don’t try to conceal

You know I will know

If the words are not true

Because I have a sixth sense

When it comes down to you

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

Thursday, August 4, 2022

Heaven's Closed Door

Like a shattered glass

Edges jagged and sharp

Cutting into my soul

With fragmented shards

Sinking in silence

Spiraling into an abyss

Shadows surrounding

Free falling in blackness

This engulfing nightmare

Only I’m wide awake

Tortured and confused

Which I just can't shake

I know what is waiting

I’ve been here before

No chance of salvation

From heaven’s closed door

The rage of angel’s

Their fury unleashed

The wrath of deities

Raining down on me

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

A Disingenuous Act

You looked through me

Like I wasn’t even there

You were saying words

That I couldn’t hear

I thought I knew you better

I guess it wasn’t so

The only things I saw

Were what you put on show

A veil of deception

A cloak of desperation

A mask of dishonesty

A shroud of aberration

A disingenuous act

That took me by surprise

A nefarious performance

That was well disguised

You looked through me

To see the other side

Like I wasn’t even there

A memory brushed aside

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

Roller Coaster

Like an old roller coaster

With wooden slated tracks

The cars all freshly painted

The kind we saw way back

The feeling in the pit of your stomach

As you slowly start the ride

Ready with eyes wide open

With your fears laid to the side

Starting up the first steep slope

The excitement starts to build

Ready for what is coming

Ready for all the thrills

And as the ride continues

Seems like it will never end

The clicking and the clacking

Going faster around each bend

You finally ascend the last peak

The cars all picking up speed

Descending downward quickly

Around the corner with eyes squeezed

Are these not the same feelings?

You have when you’re in love

The ups and downs of relationships

Euphoria, highs and lows

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

Wednesday, August 3, 2022

linger

sweet kisses linger

on my mind and on my soul

prophecies to come

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

Temptation

Looking for a soul to steal

You thought you might have mine

But it won’t be that easy

I’m afraid I’ll have to decline

You are right behind me

As I climb up every rung

I won’t be overtaken

I will not be undone

Tempting me with promise

Of riches and of glory

Things I haven’t worked for

I’ve heard that same old story

Offering up damnation

Is all I’m reading in you

I won’t forfeit salvation

I’m not close to being through

An angel on my shoulder

My intuition is strong

Your temptation will not sway me

I know what’s right and wrong

This scalp you won’t be adding

To those there on your belt

Get thee behind me Satan

In me you will not dwell

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

Tuesday, August 2, 2022

peace

in chaos I found abandonment

in abandonment, I found peace

I looked too hard for compassion

and for my pain to ease

in quite solitude--what I looked to for

and what I prayed to find

was locked up in a chamber

but hid there this whole time

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

PHD

got a PHD

from the university of hard knocks

the sheep skin framed

hanging on my wall

reminding me of my ineptitudes

graduating with honors

top of my class

no one could touch me

studied hard for that

as I move the tassel from the left to right

shaking hands with those that taught me

on graduation night

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

knave of hearts

my heart now missing a souvenir

that you took

displayed on your shelf

quickly forgotten

hidden behind the others

you, the knave of hearts

a true master of the game

no deviations from the plan devised

me, blindsided by moonlight

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

book

I read you like a book

the cover fading

the binding cracked

pages dog-eared and yellowing

a book I have read many times

and still reread

contentment in your story

comfort in your words

an old friend I cherish

a happily ever after

never changing

but still I read

page by page

chapter by chapter

a book I love

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

Monday, August 1, 2022

mask

your mask slips

reality spills all over me

drenching me in silent lucidity

before you can catch it

before you can retract it

before you can cover it

but the truth does not set me free

instead it blurs my vision

making it harder

to see my way

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

unwritten

I feel the lyrics

the chords, not yet written

compose with your heart

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

flowing script

my love bled across the page

as a fountain pen's ink

bleeds into fibers of linen paper

my heart spilling its love for you

in crimson flowing script

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

Saturday, July 30, 2022

same old

Are you telling yourself

It’s all you’ll ever need

All you ever wanted

The stuff of your dreams

Are you lying to yourself

trying to get through the night

Then the day comes

And things just aren’t right

Are you thinking to yourself

Where did I go wrong

It's the same old ending

To the same old song

Are you saying to yourself

I’m tired of this charade

There’s nothing that I’ve got

And a large price I’ve paid

Are you asking yourself

How do I get back

How did I ever

Get so far off track

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

Quid Pro Quo

Will you ever reach the summit

With all stretched below

When after all you’ve faced

Has become a flickering glow

After all the difficult tries

And the whispering echoes

The dilemmas and the fears

From things you didn’t know

When it all tumbles down

Like a whiteout blizzard's snow

When there’s no turns left

Where you didn’t already go

You thought the end was near

After the hurricane’s blow

But your angel didn’t come

With a clearer path shown

When you didn’t stay in hell

But were there to say hello

And you bartered with Satan

Another quid pro quo

You tried to speed real fast

But could only move in slow

What is there that’s left?

More dues that you now owe

For the life that you have lived

And the wild oats you sowed

It's the levy that you pay

For the final quid pro quo

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

blowing on the dice

luck for the next roll

your fortune on the table

life is a craps shoot

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

Friday, July 29, 2022

bittersweet

so close to the dream
the taste of reality
left it bittersweet

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

there's a place in your arms
that I just might fit
let me fill that space

there's a place in your mind
with dreams you can share
let me fill that space

there's a place in your heart
that is not being used
let me fill that space

there's a place in your soul
that longs for the truth
let me fill that space

there's a trail untraveled
a path to your love
let me explore it with you

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

soft and simple

a line in a song I heard sung
music soft and simple
seems like yesterday

yesterday, a moment in time
feet firmly on the ground
a night sky abundant with stars

stars, reflecting eyes and thought
blocking what I didn't see
whispers underneath the moon

moon, now full with frosty glow
music in silence echoes
as I lay alone

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