vagabond

a vagabond's heart 

did what it pleased 

silently drifting 

empty of needs 

reveling in pleasure

repenting the pain 

but it all closes in 

nothing is gained 

hitting a stone wall 

you slip as you climb 

asking the same questions 

time after time 

the answers you sought 

burn way down deep 

a spirit lost in shadow 

trying to break free 

let the cleansing come 

let the rain pour down 

let me ease your pain 

as the sorrow drowns

let redemption cloak

let your spirit mend 

let your soul wrap around 

the heart of a friend

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

song

you strum my fate softly, 

fingers agilely moving 

on the strings of my heart

the lyrics you sing 

the chords that you play 

rip deeply into my soul 

rendering memories; acoustic sound 

vibrating my pain and depths of despair 

the chords are strong 

a scordatura performed 

reinforcing anguish 

the song complete 

tears glisten and fall

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

God's good gravce

with God's good grace, I've made it here

my guardian Angel always near

ever watchful, never sleeps

incase she needs to interfere

I've been close to dangers door

she intervened like times before

swooping down to save my ass

I'm sure I am one big chore

thank you God, for  all you give

what a life you've let me live

thank you for forgiving my sins

never once did I misgive

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

a place in time

in the masquerading dawn
sun rising slowly across the lawn
all the dreams from the night before
just don’t matter anymore

coffee clears my foggy brain
and those old thoughts that still remain
warmed by rays of a new day
cold to the bone by months of rain

how do I sort out the truth?
all that begins and ends with you
am I all or just a place?
a place that holds a tiny space

you swear I am the only one
been that way since we’ve begun
you build on lines that worked before 
still ajar is the  backdoor

an ace stuck in a ticking spoke
the road to never ending hope
too little pay for so much work
a heart that hides a world of hurt

here and now

do ghosts stop by, now and again?
reeking havoc, ruining plans
dragging their chains from long ago
like REM,  moving quick or slow

do they dig trenches in your mind?
always lagging just behind
seeds you reaped from fields well ploughed
burrowed in your sweating brow

are you content in the here and now?
given a promise and a vow
distracted by the could have been
are you out or are you in?

sometimes silence echoes so
I can't read what I well know
roll the dice on what has bled
exorcize them from your head

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

slow

so we danced for awhile
and we danced real close
the lyrics blue
the tempo slow

you held me tight
whispered in my ear
just for one night
the meaning clear

so we danced for awhile
and we danced real slow
that song has ended
that one night gone

three percenter

a three percenter through and through
patrons of red, white and blue
NRA we do support
second amendment being sold short


we fly the flag from a tall pole
the one we all do love and know
waving proudly, in the breeze
flying high above the trees

the founding fathers wrote the rules
they were here for me and you
never should they be revoked
that's why you have a right to vote

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

I dream

a sky of blue
a sea of green
this sandy beach
on which I dream

the tide ebbs
and then it neaps
under starlit skies
my promises keep

cast them out
upon a wave
and what comes back
will always remain

those that float
away from me
were not the ones
for me to keep

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

transparent

when the fog starts to clear
transparent like glass
what you knew going in
starts to tumble down fast

when the pieces start to fit
finding the one that you missed
once hidden under a rug
'neath the chair where you sit

closure will come
as I distance you from me
like the old saying goes
the truth sets you free

pivotal point

a pivotal point
that crucial moment
when all is clear
the fog dissipates, and
like fine crystal
all is transparent
the lucidity is astounding
the awareness, sharp
the acoustics, deafening
a pivotal point
when I realize
the depth of it all

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

blink

a touch that was familiar
a virtual paradise
how many ways you've known me
before starting to think twice

once you sang a love song
the music sweet and low
the whispers of suggestion
from not that long ago

looking back and wondering
when did it all go wrong
one minute you were with me
I blinked and you were gone

now you sing a new song
the lyrics much the same
the chords you're playing different
but you sing the same refrain

in the ebony recesses
the shadows of your night
thoughts that divagate toward me
while she lays by your side


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

running with scissors

I am running with scissors, throwing caution to the wind
jumping many fences, that used to rein me in
be damned with what they think; or think that they may know
I am not quite finished yet, nor is it time to go

I'm sliding down the banister, of the stairway that leads up
and I am pretty thirsty for what runs over my cup
it's not a mountain breeze, more like a hurricane
the thunder is still crashing and there's lightning just the same

how we've come this far,with still more paths to travel
held together with glue so we don't come unraveled
I don't think we're close to being over or done
another night does pass and up comes the warm sun

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

it rings as truth

did I go too far? not far enough?
too late to pull back or call your bluff
it is written in script, and props for the stage

should have known better now at this age  
vindication of scenes in minuscule facts
the curtain gets drawn on the second act
backstage cues for what's raw in the wings
unheard words and unseen things

it used to be easy--a dress rehearsal
we laughed and cried being not too careful
like mama said, being far to curt
"it is all fun and games till one gets hurt"
I thought she spoke of childish things
it seems she predicted what tomorrow brings
a smart woman who always knew the score
maybe she had seen it once before
either way, it rings as truth
crystal clear, it rings as truth

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

what once

what once burned hot on a cold spring night
dwindles, extinguished, like a tallow's light
nothing to sustain, nothing to hold
as it fades away, love's afterglow

what once held dreams in sleepless arms
a kiss of a lover with all of its charms
hangs heavy and weightless in a darkened room
the fragrance remaining like musky perfume

what once played softly on a mountain breeze
a love song dancing with its expertise
evanescent gone, like the lyrics sung
over much too quickly, maybe not begun

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

flick

my mind,
like the flick of a camera shutter
memorizes your face

my heart,
memorizes everything else

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

Candle In The Darkness

Like the “Hotel California”
The welcome mat was out
Thought I was entering paradise
Now I have some serious doubts

The light I followed in here
Has been completely snuffed
Darkness, shadows, obscurity
I know I’ve had enough

Feeling for the way back
Don’t know if I can leave
Looking for the doorway
And things that I believe

Searching for a glimmer
The things that once held true
A candle in the darkness
A crack I can slide through

Still I’m finding nothing
A flicker is all I need
I know I can climb out of this
Can get this to recede

Praying for redemption
One small ray of hope
Saying a Hail Mary
Anything to cope

Seeking never finding
All now may be lost
The things that led me in here
Were not worth the cost

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

culpable

I am guilty as charged
culpable of overthinking
playing every scenario
over and over
all possible outcomes

what's a girl to do?

a busy mind with
too many tabs open, always
a mind that never rests
even in sleep

crazy dreams
unhinged outcomes
over and over it bleeds
into every aspect
of this enthusiastic intellect!

in my defense.
I've saved your ass
a time or two
kept you from falling
from your pedestal

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

brief moment

now you see it
now you don't
a brief moment
snuffed and gone
the candle flickered
flame never glowed
goodbye whispered
as I moved on

late at night, your
dreams are spawned
turning to lust
before the dawn
you clutch my pillow
but I've withdrawn
that side now cold
my love long gone

once you had it
now you don't
nothing missed
since you've been gone
I moved on
memories stored
new ones made
with my adored

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

thoughts

you set the background

on a new page

It remains blank 

nothing to engage

no thoughts come to mind

no ideas that come forth

no memoires shared

from west or the north

thoughts used to flow

a pen that would write

from early in the morning

to the dead of night

maybe they escape you

from what's perfect you found

and now you rest easy 

when your head is layed down

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

sacrifice

were you saving it for later?
looking through a scope?
were you trying to pull it together?
this life, your past, these hopes

were you looking for who you are?
as you leave your past in a ditch
were you thinking I'd wait forever
it would go off without a hitch?

were you swimming against the current?
as your fantasies float downstream
were you trying to pull it together?
as you sacrifice one more dream

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

sanity

I sacrificed my sanity
it took a road trip on its own
packing light, taking flight
with all its baggage stowed
gone for just a little while
taking the do's and don'ts
figured it out, now its back
my sanity has come home

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

weightless

it weighs like silver there in your hand 

you ask nothing, make no commands 

I look into your eyes and your heart that entices 

your kiss may cost but I'll pay any price 

blessed by the heavens--the blue sky above 

in the fluttering wings of a snow white dove 

there is plenty of room in this chambered coffer 

storing this love and the hope that is offered 

inside the door of what can't be seen 

I wake and remember this sweet, sweet dream 

it lies weightless there, in the palm of your hand 

I'll sacrifice all that your heart demands

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

good eye

you have a good eye

this is what you say to me

well, I did find you

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

shallow stream

mountain breeze
whispers sweet
through the desert brush

skies of blue
cloudless, too
once a perfect day

memories fade
as love wades
across a shallow stream

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

mountain breeze

the breeze blowing down from the mountains
stirring trees, shifting sand, tossing leaves
but it doesn’t clear my mind
doesn’t sweep the thoughts of you away

if I stand here long enough
will it erase your tracks
the imprints left on my heart
holding me at night under the stars

the memories rush over me
like the tides crashing to shore
and nothing I do will make me forget
the time you were, my time with you

do you remember, did it leave a trace
at night under the stars I sit and think
and wonder if you have forgotten
the memory filed away when you left

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