Monday, May 27, 2024

Memorial Day

their last flight in a flag draped box
finally home to those they loved
a foreign land that took their life
right or wrong they payed the price

'honor those that went too young
uniforms soiled with blood and debris
youth left on a battlefield
moving forward, refusing to yield

resting now in eternal sleep
flags lined up in many a row
headstones whitewashed in the sun
leaving before your life had begun
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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, May 23, 2024

Mea culpa

I'll say it was my fault
if it makes things all better
I'll put it in text
or send you a letter
whatever it is
that you need to hear
just ask me the question
in back of your fears

apologies come easy
when you don't know what's wrong
did I not hold you close?
maybe I smothered to long
if I don't ask the questions
the truth will stay hidden
is it a big secret?
is questioning forbidden?
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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

Jack and Jill

in the blink of an eye
it all slides downhill
tumbling over and over
like Jack and like Jill
all dirty and dizzy
when you finally stop
and now it's not easy
when you try to stand up

what was the reason
your world did a spin?
where you looking out
or trying to get in
it doesn't really matter
which end is up
if the glass is halffull
or there's a crack in your cup 
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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

between the lines

I'm reading every line
and what is inbetween
I'm savoring it all
exploring my own meaning
this story is very different
without the turns and twists
sounds like a beginning
at least that is my gist

not a country song
bout how she done him wrong
more like a little ditty
a lyrical love song
lay it out with music
it'd be my favorite melody
for now I keep on reading
dreaming it's about me
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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.

everlasting

smile that everlasting smile
that will bring you near to me
sing an everlasting song
lyrics that you wrote for me
give me that everlasting look
eyes that are shining for me
I will give you all my love
if you give all of yours to me

if you think that it's not true
if you think I don't believe
if you think it's only words
if you think you heard it wrong
listen closely to my heart
hear the verses of my song
look in my eyes and you will see
everything I feel is real
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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, May 21, 2024

a friend

on this bumpy road
which we all travel,
sometimes smooth; most times gravel
the ones I meet along the way
I may not talk to everyday
thtough the good times
or times of strife
a friend for a minute
a friend for life

worry

your blue eyes troubled
the worry lines deep
the past lays mounded,
deep at my feet
I try so hard
to clear the air
the more I say
adds more despair

what is is that
you need me to say
to remove the stress
put all at bay
I tell the truth
but you have doubts
I don't understand
what this is about

a troubled girl
even as a child
letting loose the fury
inside laying piled
be soothed my girl
I'll tell all I know
answering truthfully
to waylay the load

have I done more harm
than adding what's good?
did I interject
more than I should?
did I make you smile
more than make you cry?
did I not love enough?
please tell me why!
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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, May 15, 2024

connected

you wanted to know everything
right from the very start
the pearls and all the grit
that set my soul apart
the snarky little comments
my wide and happy  smile
I told you all my truths
and emptied every file

you asked me many questions
your charms were so intent
leaning in and whiffing
my No5 sweet scent
a twinkle in your blue eyes
a very sexy grin
and that's the moment I knew
that you would do me in

one date to another
our conversation flowed
over wine or coffee
in sun or the moon's glow
holding hands and learning
the secrets and perspective
listening and loving
that's how we connected
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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

Escape

I could have made a clean get away.
Turned and walked.
Never looked back,
But I didn't.

I could have held back the tears
Never resisting.
Never saying a cross word
But I didn't.

I chose to stay,
Connected and tuned in.
Feeling, caring, reacting.
Escaping only in my mind.

around the corner

the road to tomorrow is paved with the past
I step to the left as the dye bleeds fast
you touched my body, I couldn't touch your heart
not in the middle and not from the start

a whisper of truth that cools with its breeze
love wraps around me with new energy
all that I longed for, that I didn't see
was waiting around the corner for me

connected by passion, the heat of your song
all that I gave, stuff you drag around
I keep my dreams...you keep what you found
we both end up where we always belonged
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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

Saturday, May 11, 2024

all too soon

illusion drips from swollen sky
thunder crashes in the night
there’s no hope of staying dry
I shout a prayer, there’s no reply

poetry and visions creep
inside my brain that tries to sleep
shaking all of the beliefs
nothing sacred here for me

madness wanders to and fro
down this unsigned, dusty road
on my mind, this heavy load
intuition thick with mold

my third eye that’s partially blind
ghosts that hide here in plain sight
it could all work out just fine
if I open my heart and close my mind

another dance, another tune
another one of love’s buffoons
the calendar marks the month of June
it will be over all too soon

mama

with gnarled fingers you fix a bow
gently touch a little nose
hold her tight a second more
before she's running out the door

reading stories till it's late
worrying about her very first date
thinking back when she was small
seeing notches on the wall

a mother's love with all you do
this was once all done for you
close your eyes when all is safe
worry lines that won't erase

no longer can I touch your face
gone for good your warm embrace
I would like just one more time
to feel the love that once was 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

Vacant

the ifs and the whys
remain unanswered
no closure will come

adrift, once again
the place you held in my heart
vacant
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confessions

at the time of my confessions
when no one can hear me
when my needs are deepest
when I’ve lost all belief
sweating out the danger
in the depths of my despair
a mind that travels backward
on a trail that was unfair

the ferocity of the moments
a roadmap with no plan
with faithless understanding
staggering like a blind man
this avalanche of anger
termites eating my soul
slipping from those moments
into Alice's black hole

I'm looking through the window
at the hellish burning flame
always on the outside
but I hear them call my name
in the sorrows of the evening
on a chilly winter night
the loneliness continues
this dream that conjures fright

drenched with trepidation
as I shake myself awake
from this master plan of sorrow
a tale where I remain
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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, May 10, 2024

skin deep

you're sweeping out the cobwebs
from where  I thought there weren't any
burying the feelings from the past
at times there were so many
in my darkest hour
by the light of a half-moon
you came to me, an irreverent dream
and sang the sweetest tune

no longer looking over my shoulder
for the allusions to appear
no longer clinging to shadows
of what was never near
I'm making an investment
depositing what's here in me
I'm giving you my heart and soul
knowing it's more than skin deep

it's more than just skin deep
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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

spin


we spin our silken webs...
dreams; 
sparkling droplets of dew 
laying on the top...
reality;
what gets caught in its midst...
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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, May 6, 2024

your love for me

for this short time
I walk the beach
by the sea that knows
where the skeltons rest
on corral reefs
forever untold
tides sweep them from me

I bask in the warmth
lotion blocks harmful rays
no tan lines to hide
this February sun--hot
peacefully, I think
as gulls swoop overhead

all of my thoughts
like all of my love
across the border with you
hoping that your truth
and every action reflects
all of your love for me
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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

hidden

is it behind the breastbone buried within?
inside veins where blood runs thin
coursing, hidden, wanting to begin
just beneath the tanned, brown skin
lurking; waiting to do you in

in your mind flowing fast and hot
do you love me or do you not?
you sang it once but I forgot
in that once romantic spot
over and over, say it a lot
show me I am all you sought
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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, May 2, 2024

getting a grip

truth written from one sided views
mostly of me and little of you
pages that glare with flowing script
as I come to terms and get a grip

vigilantes sing lyrics from my heart
ballads of love, unrealized starts
put to music, strummed with pain
where nothings lost or nothing's gained

I bring mine forth with prose and rhyme
five hundred days from another time
I give you the lyrics for yet one more
of windows closed and shutting doors
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people I meet

if He decides the people I meet
and I decide who stays or leaves
who gets to stay, who walks away
who is true and who betrays

sometimes I walked away too quick
something just didn't seem to click
sometimes I know that quickly I ran
before a relationship even began

some I've held on to, too long
although the feelings seemed so strong
I've let go of some too soon

friends

people you meet 
along life's path 
sun in your face 
wind at your back
friends are plenty 
when your times are black 
that's one of the things
you've never lacked

let's do lunch

I love to meet
and go to lunch
with the people
I like a bunch
I love the menu
to talk and laugh
telling jokes
and thinking back
I love to spend
the time of day
with friends I’ve missed
since I’ve been away
I love the precious
time we spend
not knowing when
we’ll meet again
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Thursday, April 25, 2024

one more chance

I don't know where your mind was
maybe you came to your senses
see what the fuss is all about
deciding you should take a risk 

the boat is pushing back from shore 
you're running down the pier
the gang plank is pulled back now
one more chance missed here

I can see you standing there 
my hair blowing in the breeze 
shading my eyes from the sun
one tear slips down my cheek 

the things we thought we wanted
like waves hitting on the shore 
and I can barely see you now
but I wave to you once more
 
while we both were searching 
wading that river of doubt 
it was so easy to fall into 
so much harder to get out
 
I left without a compass 
using the sun is the best guide 
and I can barely see you 
but I wave for the last time
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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

given, taken

given, taken
love forsaken
wanted, needed
hearts are bleedin'
given, taken
risk worth taking
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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

release

with kindness comes clarity
with loving comes loss
with investment comes risk
to be put where it belongs

with anger comes tension
with frustration comes fear
with longing comes hunger
for what you want near

with heart comes emotion
with His grace comes peace
it will get much easier
when at last I release
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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