summer

piece by piece it comes apart 

like a tattered cloak that frays 

once a complicated heart 

has found a simpler way 

something that is very real 

a truth that I can touch 

this feeling that I cling to now

and grasp tight in my clutch

it's all I ever wanted  

I was just in the wrong place 

as it is revealed to me 

grace shines its loving face 

depleting once a heavy load 

now that weight has lifted 

this path I chose is the right road 

and I'm no longer drifting 

I once held the winter's son 

tightly in my grip 

I fought hard, ne'er a battle won

that was the gist of it 

it came too slow the letting go

and the soul I once laid bare 

days of snow and bitter cold 

on the trail that I blazed there 

what stayed in a winter wonderland

now blossoms green with spring

the hourglass with shifting sand 

sweet memories that it brings 

I don't regret, I won't forget 

in tissue packed away 

the letting go of all that's left 

as my summer comes to stay

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

porch swing

give me a porch and nice porch swing

put the phone on mute so it doesn't ring 

give me a summer night with someone to squeeze 

a song that plays in the cool mountain breeze 

give me a moon that is bright and full 

someone that will give my heartstrings a pull 

let's fool around and pretend like we're teens 

give me someone that makes my heart sing

most of all, give me someone that is true 

I'm looking for someone exactly like you 

all this I hold that is near and dear 

I'll give back everything you give to me

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

bullshit

life, at times, seems a big struggle
not a box of chocolates
I used to look for the pot of gold
then I realized-- all of it's bullshit

life is what you make of it
victims will always be victims
the strong will themselves on
waiting for the dawn of a new day

another day to try harder
to right the wrongs
to rely on the kindness of friends
and to thwart the enemy

with the Grace of God
I go forward untethered
looking not to the past with its ghosts
but with sunglasses for the sunny days
ahead

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

thin line

a thin crimson line between hope and faith 

drawn with forgiveness--compassion's good Grace 

spanning many miles--this strong, silver tether 

firmly but gently bonding us together 

a mystery, a drama, a love story incomplete 

crossing t's, dotting i's to keep it all neat 

we write the pages by a candle in the dark 

holding our place with a heart-shaped bookmark 

what do you think will be our final chapter? 

do you think it'll be a happily ever after? 

hopping back and forth across crimson lines 

till I 'm finally yours and you finally mine

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

tethered

you brush up against my senses 

staging a full frontal assault 

sending me reeling, too much feeling 

bouncing me off of the walls 

you tether me here with longing 

a cord braided with hope and belief 

you lasso my heart with loving 

love songs you sing just to me 

you orchestrate my memory 

with dreams where the magic befalls 

burrowing deeply under my skin 

oh the depths and wonder of it all

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

me and you

I know I can never forget
that summer night that we first met
there was only me and you
alone, in that dim, crowded room

music in the background plays
TV’s sporting different games
blocking out assorted noise
hearing only your deep voice

loving all that has come after

sounds of love mixed with our laughter
entwined in all the things we do
tethered together, me and you

incase

quietly, you are near...

incase I need hope

incase I need laughter

incase I need urging

incase I need hugs

incase I need kisses

incase I breakdown

in case......

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

Debris

I stopped loving you today
All your memories packed away
Tell my heart that feels betrayed
But in good time even that will fade

The time with you that wasn’t wasted
Bittersweet and honey laced
My mind remembers your embrace
Dreams of a future now debased

I’m much stronger than I thought
Better now, not overwrought
You never even felt distraught
Inflicted pain cost me a lot

I told you when you closed the door
That would be it forevermore
I told you what you had in store
But my pleas you did ignore

Now you’re hit with some debris
Wanting back what will not be
Remove the blinders you will see
I am doing what is best for me

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

a better day

looking back on days long spent
many of which were circumspect
deposited minutes and hours left
of overdrawn reality checks

seconds pass just way too slow
signs don't tell you where to go
confused religious taught beliefs
supposed to give you some relief

Father guide me in this quest
choose the path which is the best
litter not along the way
heading toward a better day

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

walk

walk the circle to the street
pug pulls tight the camo leash
there, the coyote alone walks by
the pug barks loud at the ostracized

there is Millie, our walking mate
waiting just outside her gate
 she sees the lone coyote too
hiding quickly from its view

first days of fall, the morning brisk
I can stand much more of this
better than the summer's heat
bouncing hot off well worn streets

and so we walk, along the path
going quick so I get back
to the coffee fresh and hot
my reward, a whole new pot!

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

once or twice

once or twice I thought I saw you
where shadows stretch across rock lawn
but it was the heat from the sun’s rays
a mirage evaporating into evening dust

once or twice I thought I heard you
drifting silently into a dream
when I looked you were not there
faceless lessons I finally learned

once or twice I thought I smelled
ambrosia left from morsels of love
it left me hungry after digested
thirst not quenched from bitter wine

once or twice I thought I felt
the softness of a lover’s hand
soothing brow but not my mind
coarseness of burlap against velvet skin

once or twice I thought I tasted
the sweetness of what could have been
imagination plays funny tricks
on the senses of what won’t be

for keeps

do I speak it softly
here by my bedside?
or shout it out loud
from the high mountainside?
have a conversation
with all the mesquite
or with folded hands,
here down on my knees

do I ask absolution
from all my past sins?
for the ones I pushed out
or wrong ones I let in
maybe a rosary
said two or three times
all that I'm asking
is for one little sign

dear God in heaven
I may have been bad
and I never noticed
the good things I had
all that I'm asking
no--begging if you please
all I have now
I just want to keep

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

Trust

Trusting you would have meant 

Surrendering convictions, defeat, yielding 

Trusting you would have meant 

Forgiveness for past discretions, absolution, mercy 

Trusting you would have meant 

A leap of faith, certainty, sincerity 

My heart says open up to trust 

My mind says walk away real fast

absolution

an oasis at the end of a very long trail 

a dip in the pool of Heaven's sweet Grace 

how did you know that this was the place?

a sanctuary for keeping your secrets all safe 

out it all pours as stardust from the dipper

flecked with gold specks, shining in lunar light 

words written carelessly in black and on white 

cause for reflection in the dead of my night 

sleep that evades me and dreams that don't come 

the sun starts to fade and evening befalls 

I try to make sense out of nothing at all 

but the piper is insisting on his margin call 

nothing will I tell, your confessions not divulge

like a Priestess to a penitent, I lock it all in 

I offer absolution for all of your sins 

lighting a candle of peace for my friend

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

chaos

in chaos I found abandonment

in abandonment, I found peace

I looked too hard for compassion

and for this pain to cease

in quite solitude--

what I looked so hard to find

was locked up in a chamber

but was 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

prophet

temptation bought without any reason
what is the price that you will pay?
when it's choking out the sun
just dark clouds on a rainy day
consuming, scratching and screaming
clawing its way to the top
a thick cream that soon rises
it clabbers without stopping

fragments of possessions
pointed shards of yesterday
cutting deep, crimson bleeding
all you've hidden away
the fear so black and hollow
as it suffocates all you know
slam that door, lock it tight
refuse its ticket to the show

take the shroud that wrapped you
shed that tiresome weight
the angel on your shoulder
will be your saving grace
a silver lining does appear
like a prophet it will speak
take its advice, don't think twice
at times when you feel weak

from the prophet gather your strength

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

crash

on the bituminous asphalt
scattered, shattered dreams
didn't feel the head-on crash
though silently I screamed

shards of recognition
laying at my feet
dented metal memories
that now seem not as sweet

blown rubber realization
the heart can't be revived
emt's take the body
spirit showing no signs of life

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

shards

you glance back at what you created
the tower taller and getting nearer
it shines in the sun and glows in the dark
it’s where the fire began with a spark

you whistle a tune and some come running
smiling their smiles and dancing to your tune
but I do neither and turn my back
picking up speed and tightening the slack

you call for me, but I can’t hear
a white noise hums inside my head
what was true and built to last
shatters like so many shards of glass

freight

sediment drained to the bottom of the glass

momentary thoughts, that are not meant to last

saguaro that shadow, in afternoon sun

the full moon rising when this day is done

leaves from mesquite, that spread far and wide

the soft evening sound of the whispering tide

what once was close, is once more adrift

slipping away, from a now open grip

how quickly it comes, and then floats away

once shiny and new, now dismal and gray

it's not that I've changed, or now want it back

it's more that now finally, my life is on track

I hope you rest easy, on the choices you've made

not that you'd go back, if there was a way

separated by streets, but in the same state

finally rid of the baggage, or more likely freight

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

a heart unfulfilled

when the day is long
and the night haunts me
and I’m here alone
not where I want to be
the dreams that come
remind me you are gone
clutching your pillow
as the nightmare wears on

the sun creeps in
and I wake still distressed
unhappy with the morning
that leaves me repressed
drink the acrid coffee
that's so bitter and hot
start another day
with a darkened blind spot

the day does drag on
hours feel like years
just since you left
I remain now austere
going through the motion
it seems life stands still
regrets and remorse
a heart unfulfilled

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

just the facts

the red tape cut and it all unravels

they're looking at you and all of your travel

hitting pot holes and kicking up gravel

and time comes again, as a judge with a gavel

they tie your hands and bind your feet

more rolls down but you don't miss a beat

investigating friends, and all those you meet

turning up the pressure on a very hot seat

disintegrating words they claim are implicit

while the shit they do is much more explicit

the sheep's open ears, hearing all they solicit

the truth be told, they just don't get it

you spread your truth will it all stay intact?

will enough people hear to feel the impact?

they come at you again, each one is strapped

you know that your message, is backed by fact

firing their lies, their guns still smoking 

slaps on the back cause the ego needs stroking

all they do, stirring up more provoking

keep your heart strong for the holes that need poking

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

a time and place

a time and place 

when it all seemed right 

I heard your songs 

saw it in your smile

the squeeze of your hand

and your warm embrace 

it was in your kiss

that I still taste

a time and place 

when it all comes down 

with a lightning flash 

and thundering sound 

the wind blows hard 

dusting all thoughts clean

and what is left

sweeps my heart free

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

a heart that weeps

I jumped the hurdles
I climbed the rungs
you went higher
I couldn’t hold on

the song you sang
I couldn’t hear
words to the wind
or on deaf ears

you disappeared
without a trace
no tracks left
the trail erased

no warning shot
you were on the move
an empty chamber
an aim not true

when you left
you took it all
no safety net
to block my fall

a broken past
a wall left breached
a soul bereft
a heart that weeps

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

I am

I am today what yesterday wrought

what the day brings in, what my soul has bought

the spirit that leaves as the day grows strong

what's left in shadows from yesterdays song

I am right now what the day will bring

with shiny luster, and hoped for dreams

headstrong tolerance, disposition wasted

from bittersweet memories I once tasted

I am tomorrow stronger still

fighting the anger, bending my will

all the tomorrows, all the unknown

depending upon how much I've grown

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

replete

we embrace the music and the joy of our dance
in the dusk that falls before night settles in
no notice do we take as the moon starts ascent
you fill me with love--it courses through my veins

is there a better feeling, a confection any sweeter?
your head upon my breast, listening to my heart beat
whispers in the moonlight, a dance that we repeat
a song playing over and over, of love that is replete

slumber will find me wrapped snugly in your arms
dreams of floating on clouds--softly come upon me
you awaken me with kisses and we embrace the day
as last night history lesson is once more completed

is there a better feeling, a confection any sweeter?
your head upon my breast, listening to my heart beat
whispers in the moonlight, a dance that we repeat
a song playing over and over, of love that is replete

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