Losers Gonna Loser

December 7, 2024

Ticky tacky talk
They sneak and stalk
And lie and mock
And put you in a box

They take you down
And break you down
They're never leaving
This old town


Avoid abusers and accusers
Losers gonna loser
I'm not a beggar
I'm a chooser

They take you down
And break you down
They're never leaving
This old town


They'll never let you be
But they can't shackle me
They're just a memory
I'm happy flying free

They take you down
And break you down
They're never leaving
This old town


by Richard W. Bray

Choice Virtues

December 4, 2024


Of her choice virtues only gods should speak,
Or English poets who grew up on Greek

-Theodore Roethke

What is beauty?
What is love?
What is color?
What is art?

What is laughter?
What is sunshine?
What is rustling
In my heart?

What is real?
What is romance?
What is magic?
What is true?

What are raindrops?
What are roses?
What are puppies?
What are you?

What is light?
What is time?
What is space?
What's a star?

What makes
The heavens sing
Everywhere
You are?

by Richard W. Bray


Fiends and Fury

November 29, 2024

We will find no comfort until the night melts away; until the fury of the night rots out its fire.
-Djuna Barnes, Watchman, What of the Night?

Get home before the sun goes down
This ain't no ordinary town
Cool your mind – keep out of sight
Don't bestir the doom of night

Hairy hounds released from hell
Zombies under wicked spells
Fiends and fury from The Fall
Moloch Gorgon Satan Baal

Tell-Tale Heart – The Witch of Coos
Now it's time to pay your dues
Spirits demons lunatics
I hope your house is made of bricks

Stay inside and lock the door
Don't look outside – don't ask wherefore
Calm your heart and clear your head
Keep a lantern by your bed

by Richard W. Bray

this petty pace from day to day

November 20, 2024

no not never darkness
empty ugly stupid
laughing evil putrid
nothing nowhere fear

falling filthy dingy ruin
senseless cracked crooked
smelly frigid fruitless
doomed dreary busted smear

cruel crappy murder
hateful burning blocked
hopeless sneering creepy

losing broken insincere

by Richard W. Bray

Stuff that bores and clogs my pores

November 10, 2024


Who I am
And where I am
And what I'm gonna do
It's the trail I gotta take
It's not about you

Taking time
To live my rhyme
And find what
I can find

Ain't got time
For reading minds
And sniffing
Fools' behinds

Stuff that bores
And clogs my pores
I just let it be

Listening to my nightmares
To understand my dreams


by Richard W. Bray

Crescent moons and show tunes and monarch butterflies

October 26, 2024





I like rainy days and Ibsen plays and lonesome lullabies
Long walks and funny talks and folks that don't tell lies

I like hound dogs and yule logs and films that make me cry
Crescent moons and show tunes and monarch butterflies

I like sunsets and Mookie Betts and Rome before the fall
Short naps and ginger snaps and pickup basketball

I like hay bales and mountain trails and comfy old shoes
Warm smiles and sundials and women just like you

I got nothing planned
So take my hand
And let's talk about you
Maybe, you and me
Can find something to do


by Richard W. Bray

Yucky Yucky Yucky You

October 18, 2024


Ewww!

Yucky
Yucky
Yucky
You!

Stomped
On
My
Heart
And
Made
Me
Blue

Yucky
Yucky
Yucky
You!

Ewww!

How
Come
You'll
Never
Be
True?

Yucky
Yucky
Yucky
You!

Ewww!

Every
Thing
I
See
And
Do

Makes
Me
Think
Of
Yucky
You

Yucky
Yucky
Yucky
You!

Ewww!

Napoleon
At
Water
Loo

A
Torn
And
Stinky
Old
Shoe

A
Pile
Of
Poo
Locked
In
The
Loo

Are
Glad
They
Never
Met
You

Ewww!

Yucky
Yucky
Yucky
You!

I'd
Rather
Eat
A
Cork
Screw

Than
Be
With
Yucky
Yucky
You

Ewww!

Yucky
Yucky
Yucky
You!

by Richard W. Bray

Social Persistence

October 4, 2024


There's a cop
He grew up in a boys home
He never wants to see
Anybody get hurt
Every day
There's a drop of corruption
Makes it harder and harder
To go back to work

Hay maestra
She's got a big drafty classroom
With torn up old books
And thirty bags of need
Every day
She comes back for more
She tries and she triumphs
And she teaches kids to read

There's a staffer
At a place full of kids
They overwhelm and devour
And energize
Every day
The music and the laughter
Fill and empty her heart
And brighten up her eyes

by Richard W. Bray




Wash it by hand and hang it up to dry

October 1, 2024

Wash it by hand
And hang it up to dry
Life is too precious
To spin yourself dry

Walk downtown
To the paper store
You can ask your grandpa
What paper is for

A tiny little phone
Can suck you down to hell
People tear you apart
Like they're ringing a bell

The sun gives us warmth
And energy
It's a beautiful day
Go climb a tree

by Richard W. Bray

Best of Creation

September 20, 2024


Happy and laffy
And healthy and whole
Vibrant and lovely
In body and soul

Jump on my shoulders
I'll lift up your world
The best of creation
A kindhearted girl


I'll be your servant
I'll be your clown
Don't ever stop laughing
Don't ever get down

Jump on my shoulders
I'll lift up your world
The best of creation
A kindhearted girl


Horrors and hopeless
Life gets so cold
Warm up my world
With a hand I can hold

Jump on my shoulders
I'll lift up your world
The best of creation
A kindhearted girl


by Richard W. Bray