Wednesday, September 25, 2024

the brink

sometimes, my soul flickers
like a candle in the breeze
grasping at straws to reason
but in the reasoning creeps
standing at a crossroad
where hope and reason meet
one path will hold victory
the other strong defeat

the echoes of the numbness
from silence to extreme
from shadows in the sunlight
to a night with no moon beams
the world that once did prosper
so shiny, it did gleam
slides down the slippery slope
along with American dreams

the storm of all mankind
who surely mean no harm
as callousness spreads thickly
on what has lost its charm
silence, they say quickly
lay down those firearms
we're here to protect you
no need for that alarm

still my mind roams freely
as I jot shit down in ink
it may come back to bite me
when I'm not allowed to think
"it isn't what I wanted"
they shush without a blink
and everything is crooked
that's pushed over the brink
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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

Sunday, September 22, 2024

within reach

the moon lays buried 
where solitude expands
I'm gazing at billboards
and broken lines on asphalt
all lead away from the past 

I'm longing for the morning 
to rise upon the hills 
I can't get the speed I need 
but I'm still shifting gears 
while watching for the sunrise
and blue sky days ahead 

I sink within the darkness 
I rise with each new sun
knowing the pivotal point I'll reach 
before this day is done
it will shrink in the rear view 
and that's all I will leave 
better for having been there
but much too proud to stay 

Wednesday, September 18, 2024

yesterday

the lights went out and you're long gone
things that mattered don't matter now
I told you things that I wanted to say
what's past is past I'm your girl from yesterday

the days stretch long and the nights are worse
messages left are short and terse
perspective that you held at bay
days move forward but I'm stuck in yesterday

my heart is gonna hurt for just a little while
when I see your picture it makes me smile
I guess the words kinda got in your way
there is nothing left for you when you think of yesterday
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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

imaginary love song

I kiss the disappearing image
the apparition that is you
my arms around a shadow
something I can’t hold on to
I hear the imaginary lyrics
the love song that you sang
of promises not tendered
but I heard them just the same

as I write the endless letters
with invisible, hopeless ink
professing one-sided feelings
unstamped empty sheets
the sun peaks through the window
as another nightmare fades
the only evidence remaining
teardrops on a pillowcase
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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.

just one

frost forms thick on all around
feet crunch loud on frozen ground
and what I've known for oh, so long
thaws and drips with morning sun

the wide open space now closes in
fenced and barbed like old Berlin
my mind skates quick on ice that's thin
what once was won't come again

in the mountains where wild things prowl
packs of coyotes with their low growl
for miles I can see the here and now
and our love there that now goes south

pictures painted in darkest hues
times we spent, just me and you
monsoons came and drenched sky's blue
leaving just one when it was through
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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, September 16, 2024

9/11

for those that were lost
a day for remembering
haunting history

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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, September 11, 2024

9/11/01

your final destination
solitary footsteps etched in sand
wandering once, your trail now ends
Heaven reaches out its hand



it never should have happened
certainly, not like this
your heart fills with its blessings
your mind with those you'll miss

it all ends with a quickness
no one could've foreseen
and life for those still living
will never be the same

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

Tuesday, September 10, 2024

it was you

my hair tumbles down, falling across your face
that look in your eye, the warm embrace
a honey sweet kiss, passion such as this
silhouettes from the candles that burn
cool air from the fan blades that turn

it wasn't just the stars, that glowed that night
or the moon that was hung, for us in the sky
it wasn't just the music, that only we heard
it was all of this and much, much more
that was the night I fell in love
it was all of this and more,

zoom

sometimes all the day to day
stuff that you can't put away
never ending, no fung shui
no time for even a coffee break

Monday's like this aren't any fun
time for zoom, you gotta run
please no questions, not even one 
wrap it up, so I get done

the drive home is not too bad
not the worst day that you've had
all ideas from your launch pad
made the bosses pretty glad

home at last, now where's my wine?
time to free the working mind
spinning wheels that once did grind
bounced off you as I unwind

you smile, you nod, you fill my glass
as I am running out of gas
he says "honey, that is past
enjoy the evening, let it pass"
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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

fung shui

I opened up some boxes
in this vast, echoing chamber
had a little white elephant sale
ridding some of the old treasures
rearranged the pieces left
redecorated all fung shui
and discovered there's plenty of room
for what will come my way
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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, September 7, 2024

home

a beautiful day, when we touch down
rent a car to get around
I remember the roads, but not the way
the GPS will this display
a 40 minute drive, that doesn't change
too much traffic is in the way
we arrive just after dark
and there it is, the lasting spark

they look different, but so do I
family and friends, my old allies
we hug real tight and kiss the air
and I am happy, I am here
my Midwest haunts, from years ago
bring happiness from times I've known
a short little visit that revives my soul
lasting forever after I get home
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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

all done

on a three legged stool I sit real still
perched and silent on a very high hill
the sun starts to rise above the peaks
making no promise of what is to be

antelope and doe roam around all day
the bucks stay hidden not too far away
knowing that they are not free to roam
if they want to stay in this forest loam

my naked eye can spot doe a plenty
all the wrong sex, I ain't gettin any
my browning scope tells tales of none
looks like all of the bucks have run

in my dreams, I am waiting still
for any size rack to crest the hills
but still there isn't, not one single one
even though today, the hunt is all done
Creative Commons LicensePoetry by M.J.B. is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-Noncommercial-No Derivative Works 3.0 United States License

eclipsed

so this is where you are 
and this is where we meet 
between unsure and unknown 
streets paved with unrealized dreams 

did I hear you say that it's wrong 
or was it something's not quite right 
where could we have gone 
but where we did that night 

you stopped far short of love
the words never crossed your lips
your sun blocks out my moon 
and hope is totally eclipsed 

on track

the stories that you told your head
to keep your heart on track
the bridges that you lit on fire
to keep from going back
a relationship you thought you knew
overlooking deep, deep cracks
drawing the cord much tighter and tighter
to take up all the slack

when I was sure of nothing
or certain of anything else
things were very crazy
I was unsure of myself
I knew it wasn't worth it
those feelings I would shelf
I decided to play those cards
the ones I had been dealt

even while I was running
no place that I could hide
what little you did offer
was at best misguided
the times that you ignored me
all the while I let it slide
when I saw the real you
I put my love aside

the ruins that you left behind
the lyrics without sounds
all the leaves, on Midwest trees
that turned from green to brown
putting away the caricature
of all I thought I found
sending one last message
saying please don't come around
Poetry by M.J.B. is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-Noncommercial-No Derivative Works 3.0 United States License

Sunday, September 1, 2024

midwest

flying home to my roots 
back to the Midwest 
where I spent my childhood 

reconnecting with family 
with friends old and new 
reinforcing my core 

lifting my spirits my very essence 
during the day I drive past corn fields 
knee high with thick, straight rows 

I smell the fresh mown grass 
the lawns green and fresh 
a memory from long ago
 
in the evenings 
I see lightening bugs 
nonexistant in the southwest 

and when I leave 
I lock these treasures in my heart 
the memories in my soul
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silent stars

silent stars shoot across dark sky
a comet's death, lonely they die
like hopes that fade, all
beliefs that wane, quickly
in the blink of an eye

I once believed in fairy tales
of a savior prince, the wall he scales
rhymes once written long ago
they're not true, this I now know
fantasy in gory detail

the moon rises high in velvety night
twinkling stars enhance my plight
do I look for happily ever after?
braving disaster after disaster
trying to rid this stage fright

silent stars shoot across dark sky
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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

anonymous darkness

we make love
in anonymous darkness
we touch and feel our way
a pioneered path

a trail blazed long ago
a path we both know
a love we both feel

no light needed
except the one ignited
as our love burns
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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.

a summer made of dreams

all those things that now are dreams
walks in the rain and jumping streams
laying on the beach under star-lit nights
that summer made of love's highlights
now the leaves drop from the trees
upon us winter begins its creep
dropping hands, tides that neap
laying there, not able to sleep
the years fly and time passes by

all of the golden plans we made
a future strong, that wouldn't fade
that blurs as it grows tired and cold
extinguished like the candles glow
where did all of those hopes go?
that summer made of sweetest dreams
the leaves drop, again, from many trees
and winter, again, begins its creep
the years fly quick and love passes by
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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

Sunday, August 25, 2024

July

you brought warmth
that melted ice and snow
a long winter shortened
with a different kind of glow
learning the nuisance,
all there was of me
taking my hand, showing what could be
that July

you stayed through the spring
summer and autumn too
a heartfelt poem
not a quick haiku
winter comes again
no longer winter blues
because of that July
when I met you
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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.

undone

and while they sleep, it slips away
the dreams and prayers of yesterday
not a sigh or whisper comes
at what continues to be undone

children that shall not be born
no baby cries that will be mourned
kids in schools that should be safe
indoctrination takes that space

boys will be girls and girls to boys
listen closely to the white noise
don't listen to parents, listen to me
they think they know what's best for thee

as they scrub the web and scrub your mind
leaving all of our past behind 
a rainbow promise that once God gave
now significant to the depraved

those that think and those that know
can't see a shining afterglow
refusing to break, refusing to bend
to coming destruction at the end

our twilight that no longer gleams
fits nicely in their scheme of things
intruders given more than some
what is their quest; their last end run?

as a free world that will cease to be
beyond the pale of darkest seas
the chain is broken, link by link
by those that push them to the brink

and while they sleep, it slips away
the dreams and prayers of yesterday
not a sigh or whisper comes
at what continues to be undone
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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

tiles

my life is Scrabble
random words with not much sense
redraw, start from scratch
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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, August 24, 2024

embedded

I ran a scan for infestations 
looking to rid all complications
viruses through my heart still course 
the heartaches there and much remorse
the scan says all herein is clean 
I think it's wrong...
that's what I believe 
or it's embedded way too deep 
I know it's there 
I feel it seep

headstrong

maybe, I'm impulsive
a little too headstrong
I do what my gut tells me
it's never proved me wrong
heading blindly onward
a path with twists and turns
sometimes I get lucky
sometimes crash and burn

my mother once did tell me
"you always land on your feet"
like a cat with many lives
persevering without retreat
this isn't always easy
my brain has many tabs
and all of them are open
as each idea it grabs
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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

dead letter

somewhere, close to the very end
to protect, a lover pretends
faking what is now long gone
cutting losses and moving on
taking what we get from the stress
stamp it, mail it, to the wrong address
ending up in the dead-letter office
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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, August 23, 2024

hold on

is there anything left to say
that hasn't already been said?
is there anything left to hear
a song that hasn't been sung?
is there anything left to feel
way down inside your soul?
if there is, now is the time
baby, hold on or let me go

are there anymore steps to learn
to this dance we do?
are there any other reasons
that I should hold on to?
are there anymore quarters
to this dark side of the moon?
if there is, now is the time
baby, hold on or let me go
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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