without a sound

you look out at the ocean
and I see a cracked wall
perspective bent, refracted
still once again I fall

as I stumble forward
you just can't see me through
no way left to catch me
my heart is on the move

looking over your shoulder
my shadow always around
now fading fast in moonlight
slipping away without a sound

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

tangible dreams

keep your eye on the prize
tangible dreams
not the pot-holed road
once paved with hope
the dust now settled
on past fantasy
perspective sought
indelibly gained
live the lesson
from what remains

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

Yes

The message; it was very short 

Only the word "yes" 

Nothing lost in translation 

Nothing left to guess

A world of possibilities 

A universe that’s just 

A galaxy of promise 

A cosmos of loving and trust 

“Yes”, the response was just this word 

The one I needed to hear 

The one that I was hoping for 

The one word that makes it clear

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

Casa

Mexico looms, 

3 short weeks away 

The casa, 

the sand, the dolphins and gulls 

All wait for my return, 

suspended in time 

with my absence

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

Virtue Haiku

Honesty is a 

virtue--integrity--trust 

practice what you preach!

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

text

the last time I saw you 

I think in Abilene 

you were sick, the time went quick 

and it was a messy scene 

a month goes past, 

you don't call or text 

I spill all my blues

because I am vexed

you read the words, 

hit a key to delete 

text one right back 

that isn't so sweet

so that's what I'm doing

I'm hitting delete

those words summed it up 

I'm getting over it

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

love

host-like, ghost-like 

it comes through the walls

densely, immensely 

a creeping fog 

forming, storming 

it controls my thoughts

stealing, unyielding

as quickly it's gone

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

forever on my beach

in my mind I'm in Mexico 

my feet propped on my wall 

push the little piece of lime 

down in my Pacifico 

contemplating, resurrecting the way it all turns out

burying ghosts, faceless hosts

those things that plague me most 

why is it that I find myself 

but it doesn't last that long 

pack my bags, heading back 

while the CD plays that song 

maybe I should move there 

stay forever on my beach 

without cell phone calls no worries befall

just live my days in peace

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

Girl Scout merit

I thought, at first, it was all about me

that it was a poem you wanted me to see

reading of the future, the past left behind 

once again, silly me, I was reading it blind 

I felt confused bout what you were saying 

just like always--the meaning you're displaying 

straddling the fence--sitting in the middle 

the prose that is penned is teeming with riddles 

the joke's on me, once again a fool deceived 

you sit there rocking and laughing up your sleeve  

a Girl Scout merit from where I sit 

no matter who it's for, it's the way you prepare it

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

contrast

these thoughts that I pen 

are not truly contrasting 

to the way I feel

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

uncovered

what you have uncovered 

this truth that you discovered 

which was clear for all to see 

this heart that you have opened 

and has left me here just hoping 

won't bring you back here to me

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

sometimes

it is easier 

to let go of things you love

memories remain 

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

twitter

the truth I twitter 

without any followers 

on Facebook I hedge

the Oracle of Apollo 

what lays obscure

hidden from prying eyes

rests till I'm ready 

to bring it to light

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

New Years Eve

no fancy dress bought

for New Year's Eve

we're staying in

just you and me 

steaks on the grill

and a bottle of wine

I think that sounds

like a very good time

A fire burns bright

warming the room

we're starting to yawn

it's way too soon

in bed before midnight

it doesn't matter much

as we settle for sleep

our hands tightly clutched 

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

hold on to me

when the day is long
and we're far apart
nothing goes right
from the very start
my mind needing
a quick jumpstart
baby, hold on to me

when the night is long
and we're far apart
a waste of the moon
and those twinkling stars
and I am missing you
with all my heart
baby, hold on to me
baby, hold on to me

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

running on empty

didn't see the light turn red
thoughts that burn inside my head
running on empty, running hard
all around me lies in shards

all the things I try to hide
eating like a cancer inside
pour them out into a glass
a leaking sieve that empties fast

I can see it fading away
memories sweet from yesterday
as I hold on to what was untrue
doing my best to hold on to you

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

inspire

what inspires a poet 

to pen the things that we write 

about hope long lost, a new love affair 

or passion by candle's light 

I read sonnets written by others 

and I can see myself in their text 

I can place myself in some lines 

but I am not always there in the next

the subjects that inspire me

always have a rhyme and a reason 

and I hope to remain inspired 

and pen on for many more seasons

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

so far

so far it's been wine and roses 

so far the trail has been smooth 

so far the stars shine brightly 

and you think that I hung the moon 

so far it all fits together 

so far there has been no rain 

so far the road we've traveled 

to get past all of the old pains 

so far you've showed every reason 

so far there've been no test 

so far the path still to travel

so far to gather the rest

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

adhesive

it surrounds my heart 

an easy feeling

bonding us together

love's the adhesive

it's an absolute truth 

between you and me 

this road we're on 

all limits exceeded 

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

the truth

you're digging for the truth 

and using both of your hands 

it's a losing cause you know

against the shifting sands 

like a dying man's thirst 

as you race against the clock 

tryin to figure it out 

and why the thoughts don't stop 

you should have brought a shovel 

and a hat for the desert heat 

a thermos with some water 

replacing sweat excreted

when did I have it last? 

I thought I buried it there 

no answer to your questions 

as you labor with despair 

you reach into your pocket 

for a kerchief to wipe the grime 

and there you find the truth 

in your back pocket this whole time

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

chance

Contingency
Hope
Ambivalent
Need
Coincidence
Expectation

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

dreams to dawn

I meander through dreams looking for you
cloaked in darkness; confusion
I traipse through tall prairie grass and dense forest
observing from the shadows within while you wait
soundless, stoic, statuesque
a bird of prey, talons ready
I stumble over your heart's protective tripwire
and I fall....from dreams to dawn

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.... 

the last thought in your evening 

the first though in your dawn

moving in your memory 

swaying to your song 

I am...

a melody that you're singing

softly in your heart 

a minute in your history 

though miles that we're apart

I am... 

a book that you're re-reading 

a chapter in your soul 

a bookmark in your spirit 

the piece that makes you whole

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

for awhile

you lifted me 

as if I weighed nothing 

you carried me, when I needed it 

you kissed away the hurt and pain 

and for awhile it was sweet again 

for awhile it was spring 

for awhile you sang me a song 

for awhile it was like before... 

before I knew

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

tick

I read every word to see what makes you tick

the deeper I go the thicker it gets

still no clearer as I start to regress 

I find myself trapped in the midst of it 

meaning obscure, indefinable, vague 

the less clear it is, the less you betray 

it could be about you or anyone any day 

the less you give, the more you take away

I was always there waiting for you 

to drop the shroud and show me truth 

I stayed too long and got caught in the blues 

nothing you offer to keep me next to you

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