Posts Tagged ‘Children’s Literature’

Normal

May 6, 2010

Normal

Life is never easy for young Gladys P. O’Shay
And it’s a shilly-shally world that confronts her every day
Cuz’ the planet that she lives on is insane in every way

When she sits down for breakfast wanting bacon, eggs and toast
Her brothers laugh out loud as they chomp down weasel roast
“Why can’t you just be normal like the rest of us?” They boast

Gladys in an outcast and a troublemaker too
And she is the only person in the town of Whackadoo
Who considers it a gaffe to wear her socks outside her shoes

Daily she’s rebuffed by her school’s annoying sentry
For she is the only kid at Lizzie Borden Elementary
Who prefers doors to windows as the proper point of entry

In a world where scholars are less honored than magicians
Gladys is an outcast for eschewing all traditions
Her town has fifty-seven warlocks and only three physicians

Everyone agrees the sun is looking for a bride
So when it’s time for recess and the kids all go outside
Gladys is the only girl who won’t run off and hide

She leaves herself exposed by lying in the grass
And the people are convinced that she’s a crazy little lass
For thinking that the monster’s just a giant ball of gas

All her friends and neighbors think that Gladys is a kook
And her culinary habits trigger strenuous rebuke
For she refuses kitty brains and won’t touch puppy puke

So if you feel like you’re the one who doesn’t quite belong
And everything you do and say seems to come out wrong
Perhaps there is a galaxy where you would get along

by Richard W. Bray

William T. Power

April 26, 2010

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William T. Power

If there’s a perfect job for everyone
There’s only one for me
I must be the boss of everyone
And everything I see

The thing that makes me happy
Is telling people what to do
So cook my food and wash my car
Or I will fire you

You say you’re not my servant
That isn’t my concern
Everyone must serve me
And today it is your turn

My feet are awfully dirty
They have calluses and corns
So get on your knees and wash them
Or you will feel my scorn

Don’t make haste; hop to it
I’ve got meetings to attend
It’s senseless to resist me
I will neither break nor bend

Funny thing about this place is
My doors lock from outside
And it seems I must be shackled
Just to take a ride

I demand to have a chat with
The chap who runs this place
Though this outfit is well-organized
The protocol’s a disgrace

A fellow of my stature
Must be held in high esteem
Am I really in the psycho ward
Or is this just a dream?

by Richard W. Bray

Owe-Ewe-Gee-Aitch

April 6, 2010

Owe-Ewe-Gee-Aitch

Owe-Ewe-Gee-Aitch, I simply can’t pronounce it
Owe-Ewe-Gee-Aitch, it’s my duty to renounce it
Rough and tough rhyme with stuff
So why does cough rhyme with off?

Owe-Ewe-Gee-Aitch, there’s no rule of explanation
Owe-Ewe-Gee-Aitch, it’s just a spelling complication
I ought, I thought, never get caught
Saying bout when I mean bought

Owe-Ewe-Gee-Aitch, my English teacher doesn’t care
Owe-Ewe-Gee-Aitch, nobody warns: Speller beware!
If I threw my shoe at you
Would it be true that we are through?

Owe-Ewe-Gee-Aitch, the cranial overload
Owe-Ewe-Gee-Aitch, might just make my brain explode
Though I reach out and grow like a bough
I’ll flunk my spelling test anyhow

by Richard W. Bray

You’re Not Coming to my Birthday Party

March 10, 2010

 

Lucy Sparkles

You’re Not Coming to my Birthday Party

You wouldn’t let me pet your kangaroo
You didn’t take the time to tell me what’s new
You think you’re the world’s biggest smarty
You’re not coming to my birthday party

You hid my shorts. You ate my snack
You said awful things behind my back
You pushed me down and made me tardy
You’re not coming to my birthday party

You said my clothes were tattered and torn
You said you wished I’d never been born
You said it to George and you said it to Artie
You’re not coming to my birthday party

You don’t take baths, you smelly old lout
You scatter your grime all about
You’re filthy and stinky and stupid and farty
You’re not coming to my birthday party

by Richard W. Bray

The House of the Dead

October 30, 2009

The House of the Dead

Terrence, Timmy, Becky and Fred
Went to visit The House of the Dead
Terrence was frightened but Becky said,
“C’mon guys, it’s just an old shed”
Timmy stammered, “Did you hear about Ned?
He disappeared the night he was wed.
His widow claims that although he fled
Spirits dragged him back to the House of the Dead”

Becky said, “Timmy, you’re just a scardy cat.
Ned went back to pick up his hat.”
“I heard,” said Fred “That he found his hat
But lost his life. How about that?”
“You know,” Said Terrence, “I think we should scat
Cuz’ I just saw a big black cat.”
Then Tommy bumped into a great big bat
And screamed for his mommy who had warned him that

The House of the Dead was no place to play
And prudent people knew to stay away
But Becky was fearless on that fateful day.
She continued down the spooky walkway
Terrence and Timmy turned and ran away
But Fred got up the nerve to say,
“Now Becky you know I’d rather not stay
But I couldn’t just leave you alone that way.”

Becky said, “Terrence, do what you will
I’m not about to miss out on a thrill.”
Terrence shrugged off a great big chill
And followed her up the haunted hill
The two trekked on by force of will
And boldly ignored with majestic skill
The squeals and screeches, wicked and shrill
Made by spirits that maim and kill

After they opened the creaking door
She grabbed his arm and they walked ‘cross the floor
Then they saw what they were looking for
Grisly guts and gruesome gore
And a hideous specter which they could not ignore
Appeared behind them and locked the door
He said, “Have a seat, I do implore
And I’ll tell you a story about the woman I adore

Her name is Rebecca, just like you
She died in Seventeen Seventy-Two
When a man named Oliver Sutton Drew
Shot her and her lover, Winthrop Larue
Oliver died a young man too
He was sent to the gallows for the people he slew
Now the three of us have nothing to do
But frighten poor young fools like you.”

Two bloody bodies appeared next to Fred
Their faces filled with terror and dread
Becky grabbed a bar made of lead
And threw it through the window next to the bed
As one of the ghosts removed its head
They tried to climb out then dove instead
They followed their trail back where it led
And never returned to The House of the Dead

by Richard W. Bray

A Monster’s Worst Nightmare

October 29, 2009

A Monster’s Worst Nightmare

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There was a dragon in my room
I slew him with a fork and spoon
And cooked it on my brand new grill
My mom and dad couldn’t get their fill

A vampire tried to bite my neck
I turned and said, “Hey, what the heck?”
I grabbed a pencil from my desk
And shoved it deep into his chest

While walking on a moonlit night
A werewolf tried to pick a fight
But I showed him my silver knife
And he went running for his life

A haunted house is where I play
And when a ghost gets in my way
One curse and three Latin chants
Scares him right out of his pants

Frankenstein thinks he’s so vicious
And I’ll admit he is pernicious
But he’s so easy to short-circuit
If you know just how to work it

The loch-Ness monster got in my tub
When it was time to rub-dub-dub
I lured him like all other fishes
My family said he was delicious

I’m not a guy who likes to boast
But mess with me and you are toast
Warning monsters: If you see me
I suggest you let me be

by Richard W. Bray

Sunny Street School

October 27, 2009

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Sunny Street School

At Sunny Street School in Room Seventeen
Is the scariest teacher this world’s ever seen
So you better not mess with little Miss Green
She’s downright sadistic, not merely mean

She’s a hideous monster with a teaching degree
And she’s sure to scare you the way she scared me
When she threatened to feed me to her pet killer bees
When all I had done was ask to go pee

Did you hear about Steven who lives up the street?
He wouldn’t stand straight so she cut off his feet
And poor Patty Proctor was incurably sweet
Miss Green sent her swimming in a block of concrete

Young Horace forgot his homework one day
And we all knew that he would have to pay
When all the other kids were sent out to play
Horace was crated and shipped to Bombay

If you get on this woman’s bad side
You could be sent on a very long ride
Or end up looking like Frankenstein’s bride
She’s wicked and weird, it can’t be denied

by Richard W. Bray

But Enough about Me

October 23, 2009

But Enough about Me

I just returned from a whirlwind tour
Just bought this coat—pure hamster fur
It amazes myself—the things that I do
But enough about me, how are you?

Just got this car for ninety-nine grand
The only one like it in all of the land
With silver silk seats and a body baby blue
But enough about me, how are you?

The Governor called—isn’t that nice?
He wouldn’t make a move without my advice
It seems that his socks didn’t match his shoes
But enough about me, how are you?

My wonderful life is just such a thrill
Poor people like you just can’t get their fill
Of my fabulous tales of great derring-do
But enough about me, how are you?

by Richard W. Bray

In Your Shoes

October 22, 2009

In Your Shoes

A boy should watch his step by the creek:
“Don’t get me wrong, but you sort of reek.”

A dog is messy when he’s just a pup:
“Don’t come in this house till you clean that up”

A zoo is the place where an elephant walks:
“What is that stuff that is stuck to your socks?”

A friend is someone who can tell you bad news:
“Today I don’t want to walk in your shoes.”

by Richard W. Bray

Animal Antics

October 21, 2009

Animal Antics

Ricky Reynoso rented a rhino
And traveled around and around
He rode from Sudan out to Siam
But lately he cannot be found

Tina Taylor Teased a Tiger
That wasn’t so smart to do
Tina is currently being digested
Down at your local zoo

Bradley Branson bribed a bear
In hopes to find some honey
But all he got was a thousand stings
And now he’s out of money.

Carl kicked a kangaroo
He kicked so hard he lost his shoe
When it kicked back he was more than blue
Because he landed in Timbuktu

Stanley Seahorn selected a snail
As his own role model
He doesn’t like to do his chores
He just likes to dawdle

Pedro pushed a porcupine
When it got in his way
Now he’s pulling out its spines
All the livelong day

Cheri shouldn’t have shoved that shark
But she was in a hurry
She did not make it home by dark
I think it’s time to worry

Candice kissed a crocodile
To see if she could make it smile
Then she ran for over a mile
It only took a little while

Sandy sat on seven skunks
He’s really not a thinker
I barely sniffed and got a whiff
Because he’s such a stinker

by Richard W. Bray