Archive for October, 2016

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life only hungers for itself

October 31, 2016
Edna St. Vincent Millay

Edna St. Vincent Millay

Whether or not we find what we are seeking
Is idle, biologically speaking.
—Edna St. Vincent Millay, I Shall Forget You Presently, My Dear

Human beings want power, love and pelf
Existence has a conflict at the core
Cuz life only hungers for itself

Sacks of need that always need to tell:
A song, a cry, a whisper and a roar
Human beings want power, love and pelf

With gluttony for ethereal wealth
We parcel and distribute shore to shore
But life only hungers for itself

Consume, consume, consume and shit and swell
An appetite that always asks for more
Human beings want power, love and pelf

We choose up sides, make teams, and then expel
Imaginary lines that lead to war
But life only hungers for itself

We take and trade and name and buy and sell
Our vanity forever keeping score
Human beings want power, love and pelf
But life only hungers for itself

by Richard W. Bray

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Posted in Poetry, Villanelle | Leave a Comment »

I wanna be, I wanna be a secular Jew

October 30, 2016

zzzzeinstein

Been searching through philosophy
To find the one that’s right for me
I meditate and think and read
I finally found the perfect creed:

I wanna be, I wanna be
A secular Jew
I really love the Bible
But I don’t think it’s true

The Christians stole their book
Then they said it was old
We give them ghettos and pogroms
They give us comedy gold

Do the Jews have a Pope?
Cuz I was wonderin’ could he
Make me real funny
Like Groucho and Woody?

I wanna be, I wanna be
An outstanding thinker
Like Einstein, Freud, and Popper
Or that hairy-headed Pinker

Anybody out there
Think they got a solution?
Can I appropriate the culture
And skip the persecution?

Where do I sign?
I’ll gladly pay the fee
Is this a club
That would ever welcome me?

by Richard W. Bray

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Posted in Poetry | Leave a Comment »

All the Lovin’ Minus All the Pain

October 29, 2016

zzzmanchild

Things that made me want you
Are driving me insane
When I add up all the lovin’
Minus all the pain

I ain’t the type of gal
Who’s gonna grimace and complain
When I add up all the lovin’
Minus all the pain

Think I’ve had enough of standing
Lonesome in the rain
When I add up all the lovin’
Minus all the pain

I can see my future
Swirlin’ slowly down the drain
When I add up all the lovin’
Minus all the pain

You’re just a big ole puppy
I ain’t never gonna train
Time to add up all the lovin’
Minus all the pain

by Richard W. Bray

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Posted in If it sounds country, love songs, Lyrics, sad songs | Leave a Comment »

The man I wanna be

October 25, 2016

zzzhotelman

There’s no one here to carry on
If I stay out the whole night long
Or give a tinker’s damn if I don’t call
I’m livin’ like I wanted to
And doin’ things I wanna do
And nothin’ means a thing to me at all
—Kris Kristofferson, From the Bottle to the Bottom

I had a boring, stupid life
I had some kids; I had a wife
I had fuss; I had complain
I had a big ole ball and chain

Now the boys and me
We can all stay out till three
Cuz I’m free to be
The man I wanna be

Can’t be stuck at home at night
I got to roam; I got to fight
I need those dirty city lights
And all those wicked wet delights

Gonna burn the sheets
With every gal I see
Cuz I’m free to be
The man I wanna be

Now I’m stuck in this motel
Guess my plans didn’t go so well
Found lots of hurt and lots of smell
On my one way trip to hell

I got whiskey and tv
In a room that smells like pee
But I’m free to be
The man I wanna be

by Richard W. Bray

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Posted in If it sounds country, Lyrics, sad songs | Leave a Comment »

Listen

October 23, 2016

zzzsunsky

the sun taught me that history is not everything.
—Albert Camus

You won’t find your truth
In another person’s words
Listen to the sun
Listen to the birds

Listen to the universe
Listen to the dirt
Listen to your tears
Listen to your hurt

Listen to the lies
That dance across your head
Listen to the things you did
And not the things you said

by Richard W. Bray

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Posted in Poetry | Leave a Comment »

Trigger Warning

October 21, 2016

zzzhide-bed

There’s a million scary things
To interrupt your day
Living brings encounters
That will make your feelings fray
There are unfamiliar places
There are words that people say

Here’s your trigger warning:
Time to make your way
There ain’t no safe spaces
To keep the world at bay
So leave your bed each morning
And go and face the day

You can hide in your dogma
You can hide inside your head
You can hide from scary words
That another person said

You can pitch a giant fit
You can tremble; you can twitch
Or you can try and stop acting
Like a helpless little bitch

by Richard W. Bray

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Posted in Poetry | Leave a Comment »

One Traveler

October 16, 2016

zzzpath

sorry I could not travel both
And be one traveler
—Robert Frost

All the hands that you folded,
The roads you did not take
Raise so many questions
And leave a nagging ache

To question and consider
Is certainly wise
But looping your brain
Is sure to paralyze

I could’ve did that
And I might’ve done this
What was I thinking?
What did I miss?

Maturation and growth
Are built upon reflection
But you can drive yourself nuts
With too much introspection

by Richard W. Bray

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Posted in Poetry, Robert Frost | Leave a Comment »

Looters

October 15, 2016

zzzlooters

The folks who run this country
Knocked it on its ass
To perpetuate their larceny
And liquidate the middle class

The folks who run this country
Make their money selling bombs
They’d kill you for a penny
And sell out their own moms

The folks who run this country
Have us toil and fight their wars
They outlaw creativity
Cuz our kids are their test scores

The folks who run this country
Make our politicians dance
They laugh at our humanity
They’d steal a beggar’s pants

The folks who run this country
Deplore the working man
They’ll bankrupt every family
And plunder all they can

by Richard W. Bray

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Posted in If it sounds country, Lyrics | Leave a Comment »

Shackles

October 9, 2016

zzzpeople-hold-hands-sunstet

We insulate our egos
And protect our reputations
By sheltering our hearts
With miles of insulation

Dignified decorum
Preserves our fragile pride
We guard our sensitivity
Buried deep inside

Guarding tender places
Embarrassed not to gush
We resist the inclination
To embrace instead of crush

Time to shed the armor
Getting in your way
Jettison your shackles
And tell someone today:

“I love cuz you’re beautiful
I love you cuz you’re flawed
I love you cuz you’re vulnerable
I love you cuz you’re odd”

Resisting apprehension
We stumble and we plod
It’s as close as human beings
Can ever get to God

By Richard W. Bray

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Posted in Poetry | Leave a Comment »

Peer Pressure (and Getting Paid)

October 6, 2016

zzzzbedpundits

All the other pundits say we have to be strong
So I’d look pretty stupid if I didn’t go along
Pundits work for think tanks so we know a lot of things
Strength means dropping cluster bombs on helpless human beings

All the other pundits say America must lead
It isn’t our concern if millions have to bleed
Our enemies respect us when we’re muscular and bold
Our paymasters reward us based upon munitions sold

All the other pundits say we must support our friends
Don’t obsess on means if you can justify the ends
Friends can chop some heads if they possess a lot of oil
Friends with good locations set their enemies to boil

All the other pundits say we must pay any price
And pundits live in neighborhoods and houses that are nice
Pundits tell you simple folk what is wrong and right
Pundits think that wars are great for other folks to fight

by Richard W. Bray

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Posted in Poetry | Leave a Comment »

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