ruffles and bows

a valentine with ruffles and bows

a tender heart that deeply knows

about the things important to me

a deep, deep love that set me free

bringing back all love within

your eyes dance as my mind spins

all I thought I knew about this

I learn anew what you spread thick 

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

November 27

this was your day
shared by some others
born at the same time
dog tag images remain
etched in aluminum
happy and sad, synchronous
you left too quickly
no time for goodbye
as I watched our future fade
with the spirit in your eyes

twenty one years passed
a life together ended
a shadow on my heart

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

REM

many nights I couldn't sleep
lay awake from dark till dawn
plump my pillow, toss and turn
those nights are finally gone

I lay here unprotected
without sleep I didn't dream
that's when you slip in
as quickly as my REMs

how can I get any rest?
is this some kind of test?
you and sleep are linked
you haunt every dream

gonna go back to sleepless nights
drink caffeine till it gets light
if that is the only way
I can keep these dreams at bay

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

stuck

I've seen mountains peaked with snow
and on the desert floor below
Bobcats, rattlers, coyotes too
monsoon rain and skies of blue

I've seen the drought, and cactus die
felt sun blaze, seen full moons high
remained transfixed, at sunset hues
never the same, always new

I've seen the Eiffel tower in France
royal carriage's horses prance
seen men in kilts with drums and fife
experienced wealth and sometimes strife

I've seen love fade or felt its glow
I much prefer the latter though
longing for summer and its full bloom
stuck in winter's dismal gloom
Poetry by M.J.B. is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-Noncommercial-No Derivative Works 3.0 United States License

blue moon

once in a blue moon
it all falls into place
everything perfect
the right notes played
an exact aria
the only beat missed
that of my heart

once in a blue moon
it all falls into place

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

a little piece

it's just a little piece of memory I'm trying to relieve
way back when the path was uncluttered--the sky, cobalt blue
when the stars glowed in the sky, underneath a crescent moon
a little piece of yesterday, that little piece of you

it's just a little piece of heartbreak that I try to bury
along with golden fantasy, a dreamworld lives in memory
when all the doors were open and the dance was still brand new
it lays face down on the saloon floor waiting for a revelry

it's just a little piece of me wanting just a piece of you
to keep me as a treasure and cherish what we knew
it's a thin line that intersects, a shred of honest truth
it's just that piece of me knowing what never will be soon

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

The Ring

Last night I took the ring
And removed it from my hand
A lot of mixed emotions
In this little band

I remember when you put it on
And we said “I do”
Forever didn’t last that long
Longer for me than you

How could love just disappear
I’ll never understand
Your body here but not your soul
And that I didn’t plan

My future now uncertain
My outlook very bleak
It will take me a good while
To get back on my feet

I close the box with the ring
And hide it from my view
I don’t want it any more
It hurts to think of you

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

oasis

I could see it off in the distance
it beckons: an oasis to the parched
a haze of palm trees and flowing fountains
shade and respite, laughter and love
an offering of the sweetest wine, a promise of a lifetime

mirage--the closer I get the further off it seems
never quite able to grasp or taste
to drink my fill of you
the wind blows, the sand shifts
the oasis no longer visible
if it was ever there at all

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

the beast

you fed the beast
and nursed its growth
it's devouring your spirit,
absorbing your soul
now out of control it
obliterates the night
massive paws sweeping
the stars from your sky

unable to stop the
apocalypse that builds
a tourniquet untwisted
as the truth is revealed
too late to impede, the
demolition goes on
the beast you created
destroying your love

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

do you miss me

tell me, do you miss me?
as you look for yourself out there
was I the sun that warmed your day
and the moon that lit your night?
was I a perfect mountain breeze
a soft whisper in your ear?
tell me, do you miss me?
as you look for yourself out there

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

fate runs late

you looked left
as I turned right
it lasted much longer
than just one night
we were up and down
playing blind man's bluff
was I way too much
or just not enough
either way we make a mistake
fate runs late,

fate runs late

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

Linger

Linger just a little while
Before you have to go
I don't know where the time went
But it did not go slow

Linger just a little while
Make our loving long
It seems each time you’re leaving
A longer time you’re gone

Linger on the nape of my neck
And the places you know best
Caring, sensitive, ardent
Until our love does crest

Linger just a little while
Set my world on fire
So I can lock it in my soul
The fervor you inspire

Linger just a little while
One long passionate kiss
Make it a really good one
One I’ll really miss!

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

over the wall

over the wall and past the sentries
at their posts fast asleep
undetected in you slip
resurrecting an alien dream

defenseless is this state I'm in
things kept in check by day
seeping from an unguarded heart
you erode them slowly away

moonlight through the window
a kiss on moistened lips
hands that elicit passion
all that I have missed

stirring softly, moans escape
continuing without demands
eyes can't see behind the lids
closed tightly to hold this in

the sun arrives and I open my eyes
wonder takes its place
not a dream, you are next to me
a smile on your sleeping face

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

margin call

the piper makes a margin call
you pay with purest silver
a Judas kiss placed on the lips
of dreams that leave you quivering

shadows stretch across the lawns
the traffic lights are red
thoughts race through a busy mind
as you downshift into dread

nothing that was promised
has come forth to fruition
going past the mountains
with all of their superstitions

on you drive past sleeping valleys
nestled in open ranges
the sun sinks low--night settles in
but the crescent moon looks strange

damn the piper and the devil's dues
the deck was always stacked
you paid out with heart and soul
and it's too late to turn back

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

a place

there's a place I look for
the only shadows from trees
open windows and doors
you right next to me

there's a place I look for
where the sun is your smile
the stars are your eyes
the sky the limits of your love

there's a place I look for
a place in your thoughts
a place in your soul
a place in your heart

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

long lost fantasy

I told the thoughts goodbye

waived them adieu 
as I put them all away
I won't go back and visit

nor do I wish to relieve
that long lost fantasy

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

Inner Peace

Another day, the sun is low
Setting in the west
All is as it should be
No different from the rest

Listening to my mp3
And thinking about you
Sitting on the patio
Nothing I need to do

Smiling about the things you say
I’m happy and at ease
My days didn’t always end this way
You have this affect on me

You’ve restored my inner peace
You’ve restored my repose
You’ve restored some things I lost
You’ve restored much more

I know that you are thinking of me
As I am thinking of you
Watching the same sunset
Each sunset that now seems new

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

the fog

the fog rolls in
blanketing my soul
there’s something I’ve lost

I had it yesterday
when the sun filled my sky
when I was at peace

you were here yesterday
is that the difference?
where you the sun that filled my sky?

all I know is
now you are gone
and something has changed

when will my sun shine again
and remove this fog
that surrounds my earth?

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

lost

the water deep, cold
I’m in way over my head
flailing, sinking, lost

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

no end

you always thought there would be no end

that like the willow, I would always bend 

but there comes a point, like it did for me

when you've had enough and have to leave

like your favorite jeans that have started to fray

you remember my eyes but my scent now fades

when you think there's no where that I'm gonna go

I've paid the piper for all that I owed

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

all because of you

all of the bricks that formed the wall
I count each one as they do fall
some knew little about me at all
one of them was you

thoughts I savored in my mind
footsteps leaving that behind
how could I have been so blind
when I dreamed of you

each nuance; every little trace
as each tears fall freely down my face
leaving something to be replaced
it was all about you

and now it all disappears
all of the hopes and all of the fears
freedom comes after all of these years
all because of you

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

New Year

Nurture
Each
Wish

Yesterday
Ends
A New Year dawns
Resplendent

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

New Year toast

a toast....
may your fantasies become fact
may all your dreams be realized
may all your hopes come true

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

dreaming in color

I'm learning to dream in color again
I rest in sleep 'til the dawn creeps in
no closed doors or fencing surrounds
wide open views that do abound

the mountains purple with skies of blue
sweeping to the valley with wondrous hues
the breeze sings a song with a new tune
I know the reason--it's because of you

the unanswered knocks on those old doors
millions of questions without answers for
like a child's game I tallied the score
I couldn't win but went back for more

but now I dream in color again
I rest in sleep 'til the dawn creeps in
paid the piper for all past sins
removing the loss is the best revenge

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

skies of blue

one last look, at the past as it drifts
across the mountains into the sea of rifts
no safety nets or easy rides
on the wave of life or ocean tide

I meant every word, played every part
the stars in the sky that blinded my heart
I wouldn't change even one little thing
what heartaches fall and memories bring

I look in the mirror and face the fears
was it just a moment or many a year
as I lose track of what it means
tears fall fast from eyes of green

I write my messages on your wall
the comments that mean nothing at all
thoughts of fair weather and skies of blue
and all I dreamed I saw in you

it was all there, every single part
every lyric ever sang right from the start
at midnight Cinderella had to run
and two fades quickly into one

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