middle of the mix

in the solace of the sun, which is no longer warm

where birds don't fly and bees won't swarm

a river of words, that flow swiftly through

the verses are pretty but it doesn't ring true

the hours out of joint cause the minutes won't tick

you and me baby in the middle of the mix

the cages are full of these costly renditions

the moldable minds that collect the admission

in the silence and rubble of long empty spaces

forgotten tombs and monument bases

here, once we walked, while we were still young

one ache was ending as the next pain's begun

this trench in my mind and midway through my soul

these cardboard encasements with so many holes

from this day forward, will we ever find peace?

with no one to lead us through this old disease

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

ashes

at winter's edge you found me

huddled, afraid and alone

while all around the fields burned

from all the wheat I'd sown

my hands stretched over ashes

where once a fire raged

staring past your shadow

while I was disengaged

you lifted me from carnage

from what once was my past

wrapped me in your jacket

and said "stop looking back"

leave those days behind you

let me show you what's ahead

there in your hand you showed me

a golden, twisted thread

"each twist is a way forward

though intricate it may look

the essence of its very strength

is written about in books"

he said, "the blossoms will return

and winter will pass to spring

take my hand I'll show you

what all of this could mean"

as a bell tolled out the hour

as the sun rose in the west

the tide of indifference ebbing

as my spirit finally rests

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

saphire

a million stars stretch across the sky

one pale moon is the backlight

nothing I can say, that I haven't said before

as you sweep my soul like waves on the shore

I once grew impatient, what was to be?

I thought there was no one, on this earth for me

I know that I've never been blessed quite like this

all on a chance, that I almost missed

a morning like saphire, breaks through at dawn

we stumble for our coffee, 'tween stretches and yawns

my senses overthrown, my heart bursting at the seams

you were the answer, to each and every dream

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

birds without wings

birds without wings

sitting on the ground

prey to the hawks

that soar all around

they hide in the bushes

their fate is unknown

as they feast on the morsels,

the few I have thrown

in the fractured landscapes

where weeds hide their fate

if they run off to early

or maybe too late

while the angry sun burns

how many days will they thrive?

these birds without winds

and their will to survive

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

I write

I write my feelings
I write my thoughts
I write to project
I write to express
I write to relax
I write to withdraw
I write to entertain
I write to think
I write to laugh
I write to cry
I write memories
I write to unwind
I write my soul
I write my spirit
I write my love

I write

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

Insomnia

In the darkness of the night
Again I toss and turn
A million thoughts race through my mind
Insomnia plagues my life

To sleep would be a luxury
One I live without
No rest for the wicked
I guess that is my plight

Tired of the problems
Complexities and strife
Longing just to close my eyes
For just one night of rest

So I write to sooth my conscious
Late into the night
Putting thoughts on paper
Helps relax my mind

When all my thoughts are written
Maybe then it will come
How many poems will it take?
To sleep, to dream, to rest

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

winds of change

you bite the hand that feeds you

have the nerve to ask for more

while family and friends are praying

behind the locked, closed door

it seems to be your fancy

to do just as you please

while rivers are red and flowing

upon the empty streets

you claim "I didn't do this"

"it wasn't only me"

Judas stands there knocking

for the gold he needs

the winds of change blow gently

then gust to hurricane force

as you wonder how it happened

shake your head with little remorse

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

like silk

words, like silk, flow from your lips

mine, a little garbled, as I shoot from the hip

the meaning is clear, what can I say

the kiss is sweet, before you walk away

winters gray wall, a chill in the air

embers heat warmly, so we don't care

city lights at twilight, from frosted window panes

while love moves onward, with the same refrain

it all comes down to the balancing act

keeping it steady, dealing in facts

all the ghosts, quietly packed away

as the sun rises bright, on yet another day

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

a poet

from the words of a poet

with words no one will hear

the magnatude of silence

the music not revered

the voice a little flat

and misses ecery note

but still it keeps on singing

but that was all he wrote

the nightngale is silent

the coyotes just won't howl

the saguaro doesn't listen

to what was here and now

he still keeps up the lyric

to a song that makes no sense

you should have left much sooner

to all that you held hense

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

shadows

loves old song

that's no longer sung

once bound together

now frayed and undone

shadows flee the sunlight

and moonlight causes unrest

you wonder in the mountains

the place you loved the best

beauty weaves a pattern

now in your heart enshrined

where once you had forever

now never comes to mind

with further complicaton, 

you advance your one last pawn

a night of revelation

evaporates in dawn

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

frayed

a fractured country

a flag that is tattered

youth that's forsaken

and don't seem to matter

adults who have fallen

on hard times and strife

overdose on ignorance

and give up their life

looking back with their sadness

tired ideas, values misspoken

no money for a ride

with their valueless tokens

lackluster thoughts

on too many crimes

so blows the wind

on uncertain times

as skeletons abound

and wander this land

a truth that's forsaken

in administered plans

a frayed flag still proudly

waves in the breeze

over the land of misguided

in a fractured country

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

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

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

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 

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

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

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

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

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

9/11

for those that were lost
a day for remembering
haunting history

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

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

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,

it was you

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

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"

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

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

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

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
Poetry 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 

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

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