Monday, January 8, 2024

devil's disciple

in the final analysis 
where the sun meets the horizon 
behind the mountains looming 
and saguaro with their wisdom 
the breeze kicks up the dust 
making an eerie funnel
and the roaring in your ears 
sounds like you're in a tunnel 

you didn't keep a list 
with columns for right or wrong 
you didn't weigh the options 
or think about it too long
another devil's disciple 
with a backpack on the ground
grabbing hold of both straps  
you drag it all around 

you didn't apologize 
for the person you became
to those you left behind
all pawns in a bigger game 
with hope in your left hand 
and freedom in your right 
you're rushing towards your future 
on the darkest of all nights 

I gave you all I could
it never counted for much 
words I offered to encourage
that didn't become your crutch 
the hanging judge bangs his gavel 
and sends you out this day 
with a candle for forgiveness
but no match to light your way

original sin

we danced for just a while 
you bared all in your soul 
telling me the plans you made 
before you had to go
little of me did you learn 
as all of your dreams spilled forth 
I tried hard to hold on 
but the road had many forks 

secrets of a mysterious life 
you kept them to yourself 
guarding the little white lies 
boxed high upon the shelf 
mornings after many nights
I woke to find you gone 
I knew your distant devil 
was draggin' you along 

you pack in the original sin 
with your list for all you yearn 
hold me tight just one last time
on my forehead your lips burn
you swore you were heading for happiness
and for wanting you had no shame 
I loved you when you left me 
and I will never be the same 

Thursday, December 21, 2023

Spirit In Prose

I love your mind
The things that you say
The way they are expressed

Deep, dark feelings
That come from your soul
Your spirit in prose

The way that you think
Composed in your style
With your special gift

The words that you left
Written on the wind
But locked in my 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.

the gift

the best gift that I ever received
arrived in boots and faded jeans
it wasn't Christmas--early July
much flirtation was applied

wrapped in wit and humorous quotes
for me there was no antidotes
I fell deeply under his charm
this one that keeps me safe from harm

so much alike, it's down right scary
always happy, not ever contrary
makes me happy in every way
exactly for the love I prayed

on a ranch we make our home
with a pug that likes to roam
and so this gift, the pug and I
live happily under a big blue sky
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promise

look beyond the dream
to where you'd least expect
look beyond the fantasy
for whom you'd least suspect

write my name in kisses
each one a twinkling star
pull the moon from heaven
to gift wrap our sweet love

blow some gentle breezes
to sweetly ruffle my hair
lay me down with promise
stay always with me there
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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, December 19, 2023

2024

another year is put to rest
365 that I was blessed
loves one near and babies far
two days travel in a car

you and I alone this night
snow capped mountains in our sights
moon shines bright on this last eve
fire and wine for you and me

tree is down and packed away
nothing to do on this cold day
watch the ball drop in the square
2024 is in the air
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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

atrium of my heart

the prayers I said while on the beach
the closest place to Heaven for me
You are so close, I feel you there
Your grace shining everywhere

I look for truths, talk out loud
shedding openly of this shroud
plead redemption to impart
this shattered atrium of my heart

answers come from my request
not what I wanted but for the best
what I find is what I seek
and this truth will set me free
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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

Sunday, December 17, 2023

for all to see

guided by fireflies and the pale moon's light
you carve our love in a tree with your knife
initials and a heart left for all to see
deep in the meadow where you loved me

grass from our bed flatten amongst other blades
there in that forest where memories were made
the stars were the blanket in a soft velvet night
the nightingale hushed by each uttered sigh

the tree stands still, a tall leafy oak
shadowing the grasses where love lay with hope
and there carved deeply in the trunk of that tree
is a heart with initials left for all to see

(this is photoshopped, no trees were harmed)

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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

poetry to my heart

I like it when you say I'm beautiful
or in your words, "that I'm hot" 
I like it that you say you love me 
more than all of the baggage you've got
I like it when you say you missed me 
but not only when the shower runs
I like it that you are  fussing
before our day has begun 

I like it that you try to find time 
to squeeze me into your day 
I'd like it if you were closer 
so you could show me in more ways 
all of these things a gal needs to hear 
it's validation of all that we are 
and when I see it in your eyes 
it's like poetry to my heart 

carried away

like a feather that floats on a gentle breeze
or birds singing songs in the green mesquite
like a cloud drifting by on a clear, blue day
this feeling I have is carrying me away

like the nighttime sky with all its stars
the big, full moon that glows from afar
like the heart that pounds from the words you say
this feeling I have is carrying me away

carried away by that look in your eyes
didn't take too long for me to realize
for all to see, like a painting by Monet
this love for you carries me away
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Thursday, December 14, 2023

once a soldier

once a soldier, a brother a spouse
a father, a buyer, the head of a house
one winter month on a Valentine's day
a very long time since you went away

a son, a lover, an ornery pest
a fixer, destroyer like some of the rest
blamed it on battles, long over; hard fought
scars there are many from turmoil they brought

a legacy of anger and one of despair
a legion of others who've also been there
a memory that lives, well instilled in a child
maybe not deserved, but given with smiles
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oil from a well

it was much harder than you might think
to say the things I bottled up deep
gushing from me, like oil from a well
too late to retrieve, or un-ring that bell

you drifted from reason, space to space
reading my thoughts; lacking in grace 
this doesn't rhyme, but it is all real
it's the way I think and how I feel

when I look back, coming out of the fog
wandering, isolated, all thoughts now jogged
I contemplated all the words that you spoke
but only heard the ones you chastely wrote
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renaissance man

comfortable in jeans and boots
leather and helmet
waders and cap 
suit and tie

handsome in all 

a man of many talents
master of them all
well read, cultured
connoisseur of music and cigars 

soft spoken, soft touch 

a true renaissance man
in every since of the word
a man's man
every woman's dream

my wish come true 

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Sunday, December 10, 2023

useless things

in the corner or under the bed
that very place I lay my head
the day is done and out goes the light
things go bumping in my night

I thought I had them all at bay
thoughts I manage during the day
but out they wander one by one
those ideas I thought once fun

comes the dawn and there they go
back in the corner like dirty clothes
shaking the sleepiness from my head
tossed and turned from thoughts well read

grab the coffee and fill my cup
it's still early, I'm the only one up
looking at you still fast asleep
dreams seem real but talk ain't cheap

wondering if you have those thoughts
of all the ones that are now lost
deep in memories that can't come out
I wish they'd dry up like a drought

it's not that I would ever go back
or run to you with all you lacked
times are better but still I think
of you sometimes and useless things
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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

king for a day

don't talk to me of circumstance
Of useless things after we once danced
there is no time or one more chance
once you slayed me with your lance

on you move to newer things
better times is what it brings
while loving songs your heart may sing
feeling like a once crowned king

the crown may tarnish if your head does dip
you bow your head and off it slips
do you feign amazement or come to grips?
when at last your title is stripped
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Saturday, December 9, 2023

CHRISTMAS

Calling up the reasons
Happiness all around
Reaching deep and giving
Into hearts unbound
Sealing all the cards
To get them there on time
Making all the cookies
A favorite of mine
Season of spirit and hope
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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.

Christmas in the desert

snow up on the mountains
but none down here below
it doesn't stop the spirit
Christmas will still glow
a yule log on the fire
to keep the chill away
while we open presents
and celebrate the day
it still is kind of silly
to see snowmen on the street
and all those electric reindeer
once a Midwest treat
Christmas in the desert
the best that I have known
traditions I brought with me
Christmas spirit still aglow

Friday, December 8, 2023

fireside

love displayed by fireside
burning passion in the night
flickering glow on moistened skin
fire burning from within
with each touch that does excite
verses to the poem we write
winter snow falls soft and white
love that flows with each soft sigh
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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, November 27, 2023

this place

a glimmer of light that shines in my dark
 a candle lit with novena said
like a child at Christmas I feel the wonder 
of all you offer to me 

you, the umbrella that keeps me dry 
the hand I hold when I'm afraid 
blocking out the noise of thunder 
your laughter like my favorite song 

soft and warm I feel your breath 
back to chest upon my neck
arms enfold around me tight 
the sleep of angels comes at last 

too much slack

when it all falls apart
what wasn't built to last
what we thought was love
sped by way too fast
the here and the now
that brought us to this place
where heaven is closed
and we've used up its grace

the tries and retries
that just didn't ring true
you were counting on me
but I couldn't pull us through
sometimes it just gets way out of hand
you'd had enough--then turned your back
no matter how hard I pulled and I tugged
I got rope burns from taking in slack

as it all falls apart
cause it wasn't built to last
what we thought was love
sped by way too fast
the here and the now
that brought us to this place
where heaven is closed
and we've used up its grace
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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

Thursday, November 23, 2023

Give Thanks

a nip in the air
friends and family surround
Happy Thanksgiving

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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

Thanksgiving

a Thanksgiving comes
and as the blessing is said
I offer my own
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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.

explorer

an explorer--trudging through the here and now 
picking up what works and stowing it in my knapsack 
tossing away the discrepancies of what doesn't 

a coward--wondering about what might have been 
backpack-- empty; except for dreams
that never see the light of day

steadfast

she slayed all her own dragons
without the help of any
armed with swords and arrows
her armor dents were many
and when a new predicament
would fall into her path
head-on the way she met it
befalling it with her wrath

although her prince was gallant
with offers to assist
she'd shake her head objecting
although she wasn't pissed
"I have to do this my way"
she told him with a smile
"you can help the next time,
I face another trial"

and so here in her kingdom
on no one she relied
to right all the atrocities
that she held in her stride
the prince was ever watchful
ready to come to aide
he shook his head in amazement
but steadfast he did stay
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Saturday, November 18, 2023

far behind


the time was up
your ticket expired
ashes thick from smokeless fire distance grew, you try harder gone the love of my desire messages come left unattended inbox filled with those you send deleted now the memory no good reason to pretend once in awhile, you cross my mind thinking of dreams left far behind nothing here, no aftertaste from those stars not quite aligned
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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