From thought and love and rhyme
To frontiers of space and time
From a mosque in Timbuktu
To the Dome of Xanadu
From protecting son and daughter
To industrialized slaughter
From a monkey standing tall
To the beast that wants it all
By Richard W. Bray
Rumble dumble day
Go outside and play
The sun is shining bright
Bask in your delight
Wimble wamble wee
Investigate a tree
Run around till dark
Explore your local park
Dimble damble door
Open up your pores
Listen to the world
It sings to boys and girls
By Richard W. Bray
O heart! oh blood that freezes, blood that burns!
Earth’s returns
For whole centuries of folly, noise and sin!
–Robert Browning, Love Among the Ruins
In a land once ruled by thieves
We walk beneath the trees
Among the fallen leaves
Paths once paved with gravel
Too overgrown for travel
Reveal a world unraveled
Betrayal winks and nods
An empire built of fraud
Amused indifferent gods
Right before their eyes
A world of endless lies
Erupts in bloody skies
A picnic on the glen
With a special friend
Another season ends
by Richard W. Bray
Even a theory requires some facts, Captain
—Commander Spock
Fish gotta swim
Birds gotta fly
A penguin is a fish
There’s an ostrich in the sky
The sky is blue
Cuz it’s jealous of the sea
Doggie says bark
Cuz he’s looking for a tree
Zebra, bongo, tiger
Bumblebee and marlin
Grew some pretty stripes
To dazzle their darlin’
They say a clock’s wise
And time marches on
But as soon as time happens
It’s already gone
The cow never jumped
Higher than the moon
Cows don’t jump at all—
It was a kangaroo
Sometimes I wonder
What’s it all about?
But things are pretty simple
When you figure ‘em out
by Richard W. Bray
Sometimes perhaps you don’t want to be a part of me.
Nor do I often want to be a part of you.
But we are, that’s true!
—Langston Hughes, Theme for English B
8 billion bodies
all collected
life is never
what’s expected
tell yourself
you’re not affected
but everything
is all connected
green and blue
it’s all we got
this lovely living
spinning spot
all condemned to
live the thought—
stuck together
like it or not
stuck together
like it or not
stuck together
like it or not
by Richard W. Bray
have you ever noticed steamed carrots?
they almost stun you into another dimension
and they taste so good
and they come right out of the ground
I wonder if Father Hopkins
ever wrote about steamed carrots
by Richard W. Bray
Parting is all we know of heaven
And all we need of hell
—Emily Dickinson, My Life Closed Twice Before Its Close
I always thought we’d have you
I always knew you cared
I always felt your presence
Your love was everywhere
Suddenly I feel it
Everything is wrong
Nothing’s where it should be
And half the sky is gone
The flowers on the hillside
The birds passing by
Sing to me of your love
In a cosmic lullaby
By Richard W. Bray
So it is in life—from sun, to moon, to earth, to night, to day, to you getting up in the morning and going out to play a game of ball. All the rhythms of life are in some way related, one to another.
—Langston Hughes, The First Book of Rhythm
That basketball was like a basketball to me.
—Basketball Jones
I toss it in the air
And sometimes it goes in
I share it with my friends
And get it back again
Shooting hoops alone
I’m never in a hurry
It’s easy to be me
Pretending I’m Steph Curry
Playing all day long
Till every muscle hurts
Pounding on the asphalt
Till we’re covered up in dirt
by Richard W. Bray
Parents used to tell their kids
Just go outside and play
Now they’re scared to let them out
We lock them up all day
Parents used to give their kids
Active, sporty toys
A set of blocks, a rubber ball
For healthy girls and boys
Get outside and move around
Every boy and girl
Engage your body and your mind
And feel this living world
By Richard W. Bray
I like to eat a sandwich
With pickles and sardines
I step on every crack
And my room is never clean
You got a picture in your head
The guy I’m sposed to be
I don’t care what anybody says
I’m just gonna be me
I wear my jammies all day long
I sleep in a tuxedo
Take me out to dinner
And I’ll wear my brand new Speedos
A body needs some freedom
Wouldn’t you agree?
I don’t care what anybody says
I’m just gonna be me
Nobody should believe
What everybody knows
All the grownups bow to kings
Who don’t have any clothes
You got a picture in your head
The guy I’m sposed to be
I don’t care what anybody says
I’m just gonna be me
By Richard W. Bray
