so am I

you're in love and so am I
it's just not with each other
when I was in love with you
you backed off cause you felt smothered

all I ever felt for you
remains here in my heart
I fought it hard
right from the start
but still it spilled on you

now it's as you wanted it be
we're the closest of friends
until you hide in silence again
and make the closeness end


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

road trip

we listened to Alan and Gretchen
your music for our road trip
time went fast like the weekend
the hours tended to slip away quick
I told you I wasn't country
but I'm likin' your big red truck
and I know the words to some of your songs
I'm likin' this country part of you

you slip in a few from Aerosmith
some old ones from the Eagles
Don Henly has always been a favorite
this is quite a musical mix
I find I really like Emmylou
her songs stir something inside
no one sings the blues like a country girl
I think you may have found it in me

I told you I wasn't country
but I'm likin'your big red truck
and I know the words to some of your songs
I'm likin' this country part of you


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

interpretation

all things left to interpretation
I'm never using the word always
words that sound too permanent
or is it just the way our mind plays

never doesn't ever mean never
and always doesn't always mean always
we sometimes get caught in the middle of these two
as we travel, here and now, down life's highway

nothing is not ever going to be indelible
it shouldn't ever be written in ink
and always just doesn't happen
except between you and I, I think


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

go ahead

go ahead and say you were calling my bluff
tell me you were just pulling my leg
go ahead and say that nothing meant anything
I think it runs much deeper than that

go ahead and say in your oblique way
say it with rhyme without reason
go ahead and say that I always read it wrong
and you were just running interference with my thoughts
go ahead and say it's time I moved away
I don't want to believe you seriously mean it

go ahead and say I don't hold a part
nothing for me anywhere in your heart
go ahead turn your back and take another path
I think I'll save your place here anyway
in case you change your mind and want to stay


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

pen

you want to carve a fountain pen
with your hands in your wood shop
for me to write my poetry
in beautiful flowing script
you ask that with this pen I write
my poems and sonnets just for you
I'm not ready for that kind of promise
let's see what the future foretells


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

charge

I've charged up my MP3 for music while I'm here
made sure that my camera has batteries for all new memories
cell phone has a full charge, not much good did that do
but there is nothing like the energy....
my soul gets from Mexico


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

flower

a true manly man in every sense of the word
shooting, fly fishing, Harley riding guy
but the poetry side does emerge
when you send me a text of a flower
saying it reminded you of me


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

WiFi

I've packed my bags
it's time to leave
beach stuff is really
all that I need
heading for the border
the only peace I know
I always knew
when it was time to go

drop me a line
and maybe I'll respond
if WiFi is working
that is my plan
if you don't hear from me
I'll call you in a week
or maybe not
it's up to the beach


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

cool breeze

I'm not asking that you burn a bridge
for greener pastures on the other side
second look, second chance
exploring valleys at the foothills

I'm not asking that you hurry on past
where you once sped, eyes straight ahead
keep the door open and the windows down
a cool breeze may be all you need

what I'm asking is that you taste the sweet wine
savor the moments, reflect, ease your mind
walk with me down a very long trail
before you go so far that it's all yesterday


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

velvet

the morning soft like velvet
in the deepest hue
napped with color high and low
when the light shines through

these are the moments I sense you most
although you're not that close
through the wire I hear you
touching with absent fingertips

reach down in me, inside my soul
whisper softly in my ear
if I shut my eyes, I can feel you
and everything that we are


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

the border

I could get hit by a bus just crossing the street
my friends think I'm nuts, just plain crazy
the border unsafe, my life may be at stake
but that is a risk that I just have to take

I can't explain the tranquility
the Sea of Cortez brings to me
my feet propped up upon the wall
no worries or cares..plague or befall
it's time to get away from it all
danger be damned, I hear the call

I'm not dumb, I know of the perils
I may be a duck, floating in a barrel
I watch every story, as each unfolds
if it's bad there, I just won't go

the hazards of life around every corner
maybe more significant for a foreigner
a lamb of God, I just may be
I say a prayer that He watches me
but the tides are calling my name
and I have to answer just the same

I could get hit by a bus just crossing the street
my friends think I'm nuts, just plain crazy
the border unsafe, my life may be at stake
but that is a risk that I have to take


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

Mimosa

sweet Mimosas on a warm summer evening
cool, light, refreshing
that is what you are to me
giving me just what I need

the stresses of some earlier days
hanging heavy on my spirit
like tiles on a board that make you think
you sang a song and I could hear it

a little picnic just for two
laughing and playing like days gone by
your arms around me holding me tight
what was faded shines bright in the light

only a friend would take the time
to ease my soul, ease my mind
this is what you did for me
always there in times of need


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

July 4th

they gave me a lei of red, white and blue
and a neon bracelet that glowed in dark
when the sun went down and the stars came out
fireworks were shooting in the sky at the park

it was thirty-nine years ago
there were fireworks of a different kind
I was a bride of just one day and on my honeymoon
that was a fourth of July, that I will never forget
all of those years passed much too quick
I was widowed much too soon

we built a life, we lived on love, we had a couple of kids
there were hard times as the ups and downs of marriage settled in
I may have taken for granted, that you would always stay
you left too soon, though not your wish, it still came to an end


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

Mexico

driving down to Mexico as I get close to the border
cell phone quits in Organ Pipe, no calls that I will miss
I can stay in contact via WiFi and my red laptop
it's time to get some piece of mind and put some things to order

the patrol with semi-automatics, warn of all the dangers
I can't let this stop me from this one place that I love
I heed what they're saying, stowing it in the trunk
be careful who you run into and watch out for all strangers

past the checkpoint, past the gate, into Mexico I drive
sunroof open, sun streaming in, cool breeze upon my face
all that is behind me, will be there when I get back
I have insurance for my car but none for my own life

the minutes tick by quickly, although I don't need a watch
the time that I spend by the sea erases what I want to forget
prolific by the hour, the prose flows straight from my heart
blood no longer oozes or seeps from each and every scratch


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

rapport

will it all slip and slide
back to before
falling to the wayside
just another chore
I'm counting on you
not to once more ignore
to hold it intact
to hold the rapport


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

standby

I list for my flight
what I once thought was confirmed
never a sure thing


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

Warheads

like "Warheads" candy
sucking the tartness outside
sweetness underneath


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

there for me

you were there for me
I called you...distressed and scared
a friend when in need


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

the distance in between

it isn't that I don't care any more
or that I could care any less
it just all comes to the point
when the will to fight is gone
I didn't hide the truth
it was always shining through
you know it and so do I

how can you be sad, if what you didn't have
is suddenly gone in the night
and it wasn't the span of miles
the distance in between you and I
that breaks us apart in the end
it is when one cares too much
and the other cares too little
without a bridge to connect in the middle

it isn't that I don't care any more
or that I could care any less
it just all comes to the point
when the will to fight is gone
I didn't hide the truth
it was always shining through
you know it and so do I

just be glad, for the time that we had
I didn't hide the truth
it was always shining through
you know it and so do I


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

reward

it is not that He was punishing me
but more so--that He was rewarding you
you must have done something extra special
for Him to have brought me into your life


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

put to rest

the remainder shreds
boxes from six years ago
are put to rest too


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

this time

this time..it will be different
this time..it will all work out fine
this time has come, this time is now
this time, this love will be mine

this time..I will go more slowly
this time..there is only we two
this time the love songs are just for me
this time, this time, this time

this time..it will be different
this time your love is mine


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

wine

it's like a fine, fine bottle of wine
opened to breathe before you drink
you admire the beauty--that dark, rich color
and savor that redolent smell
your taste buds start to water
for that first sweet, sweet sip
carefully, by the crystal stem
it is raised to expectant lips

but the flavor isn't as honeyed
as we had hoped that it would be
the clarity not as perfect
for the price of the bottle paid
and what falls to the bottom
the sediment, if you will
goes there for a reason
they're the dregs poured down the drain


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

I am

I am today, what yesterday wrought
what the day brings in, what my soul has bought
the spirit that leaves as the day grows strong
what's left in shadows from yesterday's song

I am right now, what tomorrow brings
without the luster, without the dreams
headstrong tolerance, disposition wasted
from bittersweet memories that I once tasted


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

stir the ash

stir the ash
breathe life unto the glowing ember
tend and stoke this fire
come closer to the hearth
stretch your hands to the warmth
stoke the embers to this heart
breathe life into this love


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