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Best Poems Written by Jo Bien

Below are the all-time best Jo Bien poems as chosen by PoetrySoup members

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Pandora's Box

you opened your eyes but closed your mind
oblivious to dreams I kept inside
you saw the package but not the treasure
all of those late nights we were together

you spent the passion but saved your heart
keeping those two things far, far apart
nothing ever ventured, nothing ever gained
so good at keeping it all self-contained

you pulled the ribbon opening Pandora's box
you twisted the key in a rusty lock
you wound the toy just a little too tight
leaving in haste when you saw the red light

I thought I had it under control
I could play the game and you'd never know
you were much smarter than I thought
you saw the ruse right from the start

gently, you tried to let me down
distancing me with silent sounds
what you couldn't see--failed to understand
I knew your game but couldn't outrun your plan

you pulled the ribbon opening Pandora's box
you twisted the key in a rusty lock
you wound the toy just a little too tight
leaving in haste when you saw the red light

I could see your future and I wasn't a part
you weren't completely honest when we started
I knew there was another, but not the whole connection
how you had already promised your love and affection

so as we go forward with an uneasy truce
bury what's dead between me and you
no tourniquet will completely ever stop my bleed
you'll say you didn't promise to be what I need

you asked me once if the wound was still deep
you can figure that out in this song if you read
what starts with white lies, ends sadly with truth
it ebbs and then flows with each phase of the moon

you pulled the ribbon opening Pandora's box
you twisted the key in a rusty lock
you wound the toy just a little too tight
leaving in haste when you saw the red light

Copyright © Jo Bien | Year Posted 2010



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Breakfast With the Mafia

breakfast with the mafia
an early burbs Thursday
we watch them through the window
trying to figure out what they're saying
 
eating their new york bagels
while they plan and plot
we are watching for drive bys
making sure we know when to drop
 
one looks like Jr Soprano
he gets out of his chauffered car
we are guessing they're all packing
at least their bodyguards are
 
we wonder who's gonna get hit today
whose day's just might be numbered
we're glad that they don't know us
we don't have to be encumbered
 
the underworld is thriving
by the looks of this tight clan
they silence the moment someone walks by
so they don't overhear their plans
 
we hurry with our coffee
before Tony Soprano arrives
we just want to leave here
while we're still alive

Copyright © Jo Bien | Year Posted 2009

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Your Love

like my patchwork quilt
my grandma made for me
your love surrounds me
your love warms me

like a caramel brulee latte
sweet and creamy, thick and hot
your love fills me
your love warms me

like my favorite garbage salad
tasty and nourishing
your love sustains me
your love warms me

like a angel sent from heaven
to shelter and protect
your love a haven
your love warms me

for the many reasons
not enough metaphors
your love is immeasurable
your love is all

Copyright © Jo Bien | Year Posted 2009

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Red-Sky Seas

I hear your voice, just a whisper
I hear you sing it one last time
I could have sworn I heard you say
"I love you" before you turned away

faded roses in your hand
from the bed where they were strewn
petals wilted and turning brown
falling through fingers to the ground

I didn't see the things you saw
didn't know that it was there
as a heart escapes what was in the air
the end to a tragic love affair

two lovers in the heat of night
wait upon the sun to rise
ships that sail under red-sky seas
a love without a guaranty

Copyright © Jo Bien | Year Posted 2010

Details | Jo Bien Poem

Christmas

Calling up the reasons
Happiness all around
Reaching deep and giving
Into hearts unbound
Sealing all the cards
To get them there on time 
Making all the cookies
A favorite of mine
Season of spirit and hope

Copyright © Jo Bien | Year Posted 2009



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Mama

with gnarled fingers you fix a bow
gently touch a little nose
hold her tight a second more
before she's running out the door

reading stories till it's late
worrying about her very first date
thinking back when she was small
seeing notches on the wall

a mother's love with all you do
this was once all done for you
close your eyes when all is safe
worry lines that won't erase

no longer can I touch your face
gone for good your warm embrace
I would like just one more time
to feel the love that once was mine

Copyright © Jo Bien | Year Posted 2019

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A Gentle Wind

Blows in from the east
Disturbing my thoughts and heart 
Concluding of life

Copyright © Jo Bien | Year Posted 2009

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Love

love comes around once in a while
unlocks the door with its winning smile
it takes every breath, wounds with its scars
whispers to your soul as it plays with your heart
the lessons you learn, what answers remain 
each time a beginning as you try it again

Copyright © Jo Bien | Year Posted 2010

Details | Jo Bien Poem

The Rose

like a bee to nectar you rush
through the garden,
heading directly to the biggest red rose
in your path the tulip, vibrant and strong
in your haste for the beautiful rose,
you brush against the tulip, obliviously
knocking the fragrant petals to the ground  
you grab for the perfect rose cursing
to yourself as the barbs from the stem
cut into your ungloved hand
as you wipe the blood, from the vicious 
tear in your skin on your pants, you look down
at the dirt and on the tulip
now crushed under your boots

Copyright © Jo Bien | Year Posted 2009

Details | Jo Bien Poem

Somewhere Along the Way

I lost it somewhere, somewhere along the way
it's not here right now, but I think I had it yesterday
but yesterday is a memory, today is a blank sheet
that will also be a memory when this day is complete

where do I find it? where is it that I look?
is it in a smile? or in an unread book?
is it in the whispered breeze? caught in a mesquite?
is it in the shadows--playing hide and seek with me?

will I know it when I find it? will it recognize?
does it know that I'm searching low and high?
find me, blanket me, surround me with you
capture, enrapture, surround me with you

Copyright © Jo Bien | Year Posted 2010

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Book: Shattered Sighs