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
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
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
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
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
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
We served
Next to each other
We worked
And we played
We got
A lot done
And we showed up
Every day
I hope you smile
When you think about me
And all the things
That we been through
I hope you smile
When you think about me
I’m smiling when
I think of you
Times change
And people change
Big ole rivers
Roll along
And the people
You get used to
Sometimes they have
To move on
I hope you smile
When you think about me
And all the things
That we been through
I hope you smile
When you think about me
I’m smiling when
I think of you
by Richard W. Bray
In headaches and in worry
Vaguely life leaks away,
And Time will have his fancy
To-morrow or to-day.
—W.H. Auden, As I Walked Out One Evening
Walking down the street
Going nowhere
Nothing to look forward to
Nobody to care
Big cloud of empty
Hanging in the air
Life is just
A rotten stupid
Maggot-breeding scam
I’m tired and I’m sick
Of everything I am
Can’t stagger through
Another dragging day
None of my plans
Ended up this way
Days bleed into weeks
And life drifts away
Life is just
A rotten stupid
Maggot-breeding scam
I’m tired and I’m sick
Of everything I am
by Richard W. Bray
Love’s not easy
Love’s not free
It takes a toll on
You and me
I’m not stupid
I’m not blind
I know that sometimes
You’re unkind
Love’s not heaven
Love’s not God
Love is painful
Love is odd
I’m not a dreamer
Just a girl
I know that you
Can’t fix the world
Love’s a chance
For me to cope
Love’s a place
To perch my hope
by Richard W. Bray
Science is a tool
That advances certain tasks
But you won’t find the Truth
In a beaker or a flask
Science is a tool
It’s a process or technique
But science makes a fool
When it’s wisdom that you seek
Science is a tool
Like a hammer or a knife
Not a creed, nor a school
Nor a philosophy of life
Science is a tool
That can foster gross infection
In the minds of crazy ghouls
With dreams of mass perfection
by Richard W. Bray
Laughter hope sock in the eye's Blog 