Saturday, November 18, 2023

Lyrics Of My Life

Prose that’s put to music
Lyrics of my life
Sung in soft and bluesy tones
Wonder, loving, strife

A melody of amazement
A rhapsody of passion
A song of aspiration
An opera of emotion

The chords of deep dissension
Played by violins
A harp for softer moments
A cello for my sins

The maestro does conduct it all
Standing with baton
The symphony well directed
As my life plays on

Avalon

her iris the color of embers 
she hailed from Avalon
they said she was a princess
her beauty far renown
looking in the mirror
she could not see that depth
her search for truth and honesty
wide was the path she swept

they say he was a legend
upon his metal steed
and many were the damsels
he'd left behind with speed
always heading onward
weary was  his quest
sometimes roads not visible
on his sojourn west

she sat next to the window
and prayed a silent plea
she said I'll love no other
just cause he loves me
I will wait for ever
if that's how long it takes
right here, this lonely princess
alone, may be my fate

auspicious, was their meeting
arranged by common friends
fortuitous, when their eyes met
a beginning without end
adventure when together
never, to be apart
a prince upon a metal horse
had finally won her heart
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Poetry by M.J.B. is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-Noncommercial-No Derivative Works 3.0 United States License

Monday, October 30, 2023

for what was

for what was a loving rapport
singing softly at my heart's door
a golden key opening a lock
surrounding--astounding

for what was a warm embrace
hands that gently touched your face
kisses burning into my soul
intensely--immensely

for what was my heart believed
the truth, a spotlight, now floods me
shadows hidden deep within
dwelling--foretelling

for what was that floats as a dream
never really what it seemed
as the key twists in the lock
rending--splintering
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Poetry by M.J.B. is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-Noncommercial-No Derivative Works 3.0 United States License

The Dwelling

In this very deep dark place 
Where all my secrets dwell 
I’ve gathered many memories 
Some which I’ll never tell 

Memories of love long lost 
Memories of hope 
Memories of yesterday 
And things with which to cope 

Always adding something 
More and more each day 
To this cavernous, deep, dark place 
Always locked away

rain haiku

and the rain that fell 
was not cleansing or gentle
it was only wet

Thursday, October 26, 2023

fester

deep inside, where no one can see
things that fester, won't be set free
so many questions, so many thoughts
of long ago times and the trouble it wrought

simmering, just beginning to boil
reaching a point like a snake that is coiled
ready to spew from once silent lips
nothing in writing, not from the script

surprise from the one who lead it along
minding their business and singing their song
lyric that falls on my ears that won't hear
you once had the chance, when you were endeared

the days hurried forward with no time to waste
and you, you left nothing when you left in haste
water under a bridge that was dammed in the crook
and I wrote the ending in our CliffsNotes book
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Poetry by M.J.B. is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-Noncommercial-No Derivative Works 3.0 United States License

raj


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

strength

the cord is severed on the dangling rope
that once kept me connected to so little hope
here comes the part where I sink or I swim
finding if my strength will last to the end

the highs and the lows of days just now past
reaching for something I knew couldn't last
too little on one side too much on the other
like bugs in the night, with the light fly for cover

like a bumper sticker stating if you can read you're too close
like a firefly whose tail in the night gently glows
like a fire that rages and then simmers to fine ash
like a warning sign you read long after the fact

the cord is now severed on the dangling rope
that once kept me connected to so little hope
I find I don't sink and how strong I can swim
finding my strength holds all the way to the end
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Poetry by M.J.B. is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-Noncommercial-No Derivative Works 3.0 United States License

contract

you're the one that sold me on the crescent moon
a salesman selling ad space, a contract signed by noon
I bought it all with your sweet smile, paper signed with blues
filed in your work folder with other papers of different hues

I reread the manifest, I'm absorbing every word
note the missing feelings and the things not heard
no clauses for my escape, no way that I can purge
not enough of adjectives and way too many verbs

a contract of adhesion, consumer protection not offered
your heart getting richer, another added to your coffer
mine lays by the roadside with the to occupant stuffers
neglected terms and conditions without any other buffers

this contract that I purchased reaches its expiration
renewal not an option without terms coming to fruition
you are up the street, selling honey and aberration
and I'm reading the fine print with a whole new appreciation
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Poetry by M.J.B. is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-Noncommercial-No Derivative Works 3.0 United States License

have you ever?

have you ever wondered....
why the dawn is so red
why the moon and sun appear simultaneously
why it rains across the street, but not on you
why we choose to love those--
who don't love back

have you ever wondered....
why music affects our moods
why you can't sleep when tired
why you dream--
and where they go when they die

have you ever wondered....
what is around the next corner
why some lessons, we just don't learn
where love went--
and if it's ever coming back

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

Wednesday, October 18, 2023

it's not about

it's not about the breath you take
or breathing in and out
it's not what gets you through the night
or what love is all about
it's not about the rising score
or who might win the race
love isn't about the breathing
it's who takes your breath away

it's not about the hoping
or saying all the prayers
it's the candle in the darkness
that's steady after it flares
it's the hand and heart you hold
after all is said and done
it's the promise of tomorrow
after yesterday is gone
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Poetry by M.J.B. is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-Noncommercial-No Derivative Works 3.0 United States License

Yesterdays

Who does your past belong to today?
Not me anymore since we parted ways
Constantly wondering if you’re doing ok
Thinking about our yesterdays

The timing was off when I was your past
Did all we could to make it last
That brief time still unsurpassed
In my mind there's no contrast

If we’d met later, at a different time
We could have made it, it might have been fine
The love we shared, complete, sublime
We were a shooting star after a rapid climb

Too much distance, too much space
Logging miles, to be in one place
It was worth it for your embrace
The look of happiness on your face

It wore us down, tired us out
Tore us apart, started our doubts
Too much work to go that route
That’s what the end was all about

I hope you’re happy, and that you're well
We both moved on the past now quelled
We could meet again, only time will tell
It is a thought that sometimes dwells

Who does your past belong to today?
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Poetry by M.J.B. is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-Noncommercial-No Derivative Works 3.0 United States License.

Tuesday, October 10, 2023

in these moments

in the depths of your laughter 
in the fine lines around the smile of your eyes 
in the lilt of your words 
in the heat of your kiss 
in all of these moments 
love floods my soul

cavern

in a cavern
my petroglyph shimmers with color
prisms of inner feelings
reflecting in an underground pool
my thoughts tumble and scream
echoing against limestone walls
returning to me as a whisper
as a prayer
as an answer
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Poetry by M.J.B. is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-Noncommercial-No Derivative Works 3.0 United States License

lessons

you taught me things 
the lessons I learned well 
it's not that I'm not smart 
you know I'm quick as hell
an enigma to my friends
at most things I excel 

you taught me how to smile 
at the silliest things 
to enjoy a smooth latte 
it's a Starbucks thing 
and to enjoy a love 
the kind that your heart brings 

you taught me how to dance
as time moved too fast 
I knew you were here for now 
not how long we could last 
when the dance was over 
is when you turned your back 

the lesson I learned best 
was learned after you were gone 
no longer hearing you sing 
any of my favorite songs
the breaking of my heart 
that just keeps stretching on
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Thursday, October 5, 2023

fortress

you climbed the fortress
up trellises of vine
to capture her heart
to hold for all time
the tower a bastion
protected, secured
without hesitation
your vision unobscured
your mission was gallant
the plan was construed
knowing not resistance
from a love that was true
as you scale the tower
you know in your heart
a happy ending was coming
you knew from the start
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Poetry by M.J.B. is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-Noncommercial-No Derivative Works 3.0 United States License.

driftwood

in my fortress by the sea
I ponder thoughts washing over me
under the moon, tide’s ebb and flow
do I stay or shall I go?

one by one the answers come
just enough to keep me numb
giving what you think I need
sometimes truth will make me bleed

like driftwood washed upon my beach
footsteps left, etched very deep
no wind makes them disappear
always present, always clear

I sit here in a very tall tower
looking down on what aspires
growing like the ivy leaves
intricate is the vine that weaves

the sun comes up and warms the sand
in this never, never land
is this love that glows with day?
why does night bring doubt my way?

in this fortress by the sea
I ponder thoughts washing over me
under the moon, tide’s ebb and flow
can I stay, or do I go?

Wednesday, October 4, 2023

smalltown Friday night

a football game under stadium lights
a nip in the air,  on this Friday night
our final touchdown, when the score was tied
a team that fought hard, with all of their might

a bonfire after, cheering on the team
under a fall moon, how brightly in gleams
hoarse from the yelling, the cheers we screamed
now on to state, a coaches best dream

a smalltown girl, 'round the fire we snake
a homecoming dance. with my favorite date
the memories that come, the ones we create
that live in us always, and never abate

a long time ago, oh, how things do change
with all of the schedules that we rearrange
some of those thoughts that now are estranged
but plenty of new ones that I have exchanged

a smalltown girl, that grew and moved on
until a resurgence of one of my favorite songs
the memories return, just as ever as strong
here in my memory, they keep hanging on
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Poetry by M.J.B. is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-Noncommercial-No Derivative Works 3.0 United States License

I had forgotten...


I had forgotten this part
this part where love is returned
this part where it wraps you in its golden warmth
where it slips into your thoughts and makes you smile
a remembered comment, a remembered touch, a remembered kiss
I had forgotten this part
the feeling when you said it for the first time
"I love you"...spoken with your lips, heart and eyes... 
yes, I had forgotten, how right this could feel
and how love should always

touch and go

there is no more, 
nor is there less 
it's like Alice through the looking glass 
I circumvented one of the rules 
now off the table what left you unglued

back to the banter,
the touch and go 
an even keel that we used to know 
teasing thoughts and passion screams
in the dark on a tiny little screen

the monsoons pass 
and there's thunderless sky 
my way of saying 
it's now been put right 

you get closer to finally, 
nothing in your way 
brushing past the valley 
with our yesterday's 

linger

you look and you see
you listen and you hear
you touch and you feel
you breathe me in
and your taste lingers on my lips
long after you are gone
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Poetry by M.J.B. is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-Noncommercial-No Derivative Works 3.0 United States License.

Friday, September 29, 2023

silence

the sheep all still masked
and blindly they follow
listening to the words
all muttered and hollow
what isn't being said
should scare them to death
this isn't said lightly
it's no empty threat

on a podium he stands
and then wanders away
ignoring the masters
ignoring stormy days
as wise ones prepare
for what will descend
history repeats
before freedom can end

so gather 'round people
please heed the call
don't think that it's nothing
before it can fall
you're paying too much
for the silence you devour
all that's at stake
just takes your brainpower
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Poetry by M.J.B. is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-Noncommercial-No Derivative Works 3.0 United States License

last call

here where your west was all but won 
you didn't ask anything, nothing at all 
on top of a mountain where you see for miles 
down to my valley where it was last call

I played it all out, a map marked for you 
from the middle of the beginning with all new false starts 
the trail had some bends that didn't get plotted
it rends just like fabric and it all falls apart

I got lost for awhile in the chambers of my heart 
couldn't find my way back into your open arms 
secure in my mind with an ego that bends 
and snaps like a twig under footsteps that harm

blind is the trail where roses are strewn 
words never whispered from love songs not heard 
insight doesn't enter, the skies remain blue
each line that was written lays North undisturbed 

here where your west was once all but won 
you didn't ask anything, I heard in my head 
on the top of a mountain top where you see for miles 
last rites are said as I bury my dead 

still the same

lucky at the casino, lucky with the draw
the slot kicks out tickets, printed with it all
I look at my winnings, it's not close to last call
I knew your were a gamble that wouldn't pay off

from game to game looking for the next hit
bells are going off inviting me to sit
others over my shoulder close enough to spit
watching how I play this game needing wit

like Bob Seger says when he sings "Still The Same'
for a little while, I'm caught up in the game
an eight hundred number when too close to the flame
it's knowing what to hold and when to walk away

lucky with the cards but not so much with love
you can't beat the excitement of this queen of hearts
I could read you like my hand, right from the very start
I knew you were a gamble, that wouldn't pay off
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Poetry by M.J.B. is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-Noncommercial-No Derivative Works 3.0 United States License

Monday, September 25, 2023

not for me

For that one shining moment
I thought you were mine
A fragile house of cards
Constructed in my mind
but I misread the lyrics
The song was not for me
I know it never was
Should've read more carefully
so I retrace all the moments
rethink of all those times
when once upon a memory
I thought you were mine
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Poetry by M.J.B. is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-Noncommercial-No Derivative Works 3.0 United States License.