A look, a snub, a slander Says you’re not enough A heap of indignation A morsel of love Silent disappointment A rolling of the eyes To never miss a moment To cut you down to size The sadness of a soul Who gives to take away A sigh that’s filled with scorn A heart made out of clay by Richard W. Bray
It’s pretty easy to tell when someone is lying to themself.* But you can never know another person’s truth. And discovering your own truth is an enormous task. The truth that looks you in the eye “No reason why this has to hurt” Tell yourself another lie Compare yourself to other guys “My loser friends are so inert” The truth that looks you in the eye Bewildered every time you cry “I’m self-aware – I’m so alert” Tell yourself another lie Jump off a bridge – expect to fly “Only fools return to dirt?” The truth that looks you in the eye Deception is your alibi “I’m guiltless, honest and overt” Tell yourself another lie Dismiss your actions with a sigh “I never aimed to disconcert” The truth that looks you in the eye Tell yourself another lie by Richard W. Bray *For example, when someone says I don’t care, it usually means they care a lot.
there’s no magic words to protect you from the hurt there’s no magic words there’s just a lot of dirt there’s no magic words to cover up the lies there’s no magic words for the empty in their eyes there’s no magic words just try to stay real keep your people close and take the time to heal by Richard W. Bray
unruly, rambunctious, exhausting and wild there’s no greater love than the love of a child boundless, colossal, extending for miles there is no restraining the love of a child needy and hopeful, touching and mild the heaviest burden, the love of a child investing your marrow, refunded in smiles there’s no greater love than the love of a child by Richard W. Bray
Henny Henny Penny says “The sky is falling down Pack up everything you got And get out of town” Henny Henny Penny says “It’s never been this bad The world is off its rocker And everyone is mad” Henny Henny Penny says “Life don’t make no sense I need a load of bricks To build a bigger fence” Henny Henny Penny says “Never go outside It’s a crazy crazy world So find a place to hide” Henny Henny Penny says “Protect your mental health You don’t want to go crazy Like everybody else” By Richard W. Bray
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
