Posts Tagged ‘children’s poetry’
August 23, 2020
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
Tags:Children's Literature, children's poetry, Commander Spock, humorous poetry, Poetry, Star Trek
Posted in Poetry, Poetry for Kids | Leave a Comment »
September 26, 2019

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
Tags:Basketball Jones, Cheech and Chong, Children's Literature, children's poetry, Langston Hughes, Poetry, Steph Curry, The First Book of Rhythm
Posted in Langston Hughes, Poetry, Poetry for Kids, Sports | Leave a Comment »
March 3, 2019

I’m a good little boy
And I always obey
They said “finish all the dishes”
So I threw them away
MommyDaddy told me
I’ve been a bad boy
I’m a walking tornado
I’m designed to destroy
I’m a good little boy
I never tell a lie
You’re feet smell like farts
And that’s an ugly necktie
MommyDaddy told me
I’ve been a bad boy
I should really be nice
But I gotta annoy
I’m a good little boy
Not a greedy little hog
That’s why I ate my dessert
And gave my dinner to the dog
MommyDaddy told me
I’ve been a bad boy
They feed me bread & water
They took away my toys
by Richard W. Bray
Tags:Children's Literature, children's poetry, Poetry, rascals
Posted in Poetry, Poetry for Kids | Leave a Comment »
June 23, 2017

A good athlete must have that harmony of movements or rhythm, which is called “form”….From pitch, to swing, to ball, a whole series of rhythms are set off, one rhythm, or one motion, starting another. 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. You, your baseball, and the universe are brothers through rhythms.
—Langston Hughes, The First Book of Rhythm
Get in sync
And harmonize
Earth and moon
And sun and sky
All the rhythms
Are connected
Ain’t a body
Unaffected
Sun ashinin’
Earth aspinnin’
Live the motion
Breathe the rhythm
by Richard W. Bray
Tags:Children's Literature, children's poetry, Langston Hughes, Poetry, The First Book of Rhythm
Posted in Langston Hughes, Poetry, Poetry for Kids | Leave a Comment »
January 10, 2015

Don’t wake me up for anything
Don’t even say my name
This ain’t the time for pestering
My weak and weary frame
Don’t wake me up for anything
My bedroom is a shrine
Don’t disrupt my napping
My stupor is divine
Don’t wake me up for anything
Don’t halt my brief vacation
No good comes from bedeviling
My blesséd hibernation
Don’t wake me up for anything
I can’t afford to lose
Time set aside for slumbering
Don’t interrupt my snooze
Don’t wake me up for anything
My dreams are grandiose
If the world is ending
Just leave me comatose
by Richard W. Bray
Tags:Children's Literature, children's poetry, Humor, humorous poetry, Poetry, sleep
Posted in Poetry, Poetry for Kids | Leave a Comment »
July 22, 2011

Moochers
Hey, watch out!
Here they come
What ya’ got?
They want some
Must be that time of year
Cuz the moochers are all here
They show up at your dwelling
When you’re getting set to eat
Boldly they will tell you
That you owe them all a seat
Once they fill their innards
They’ll discreetly slip away
You’ll be doing all those dishes
While they run around and play
As if your possessions
Really should be theirs
Moochers love to “borrow”
Your money, books and chairs
The dude who recommended
“Never a lender be”
Probably let a moocher
“Borrow” his tv
Yesterday a moocher
Knocked upon my door
And asked if he could come inside
And watch me do my chores
I said that this would seem to be
A silly waste of time
“Watching others work,” he said
“Makes me feel sublime”
I was raised to be unselfish
And always lend a hand
I know that this is right
But I still don’t understand
Those people who would rather
Waste the livelong day
Living off of others
Instead of making their own way
So if you see them coming
Turn off all your lights
And hide down in the basement
Until they’re out of sight
by Richard W. Bray
Tags:Children's Literature, children's poetry, comedy, Humor, humorous poetry, moochers, Poetry, Polonius
Posted in Poetry for Kids | Leave a Comment »
July 8, 2011

Not Amused
Was not amused when you used
My shirt to wash your car
You left it thrashed, torn and trashed
An ugly ball of tar
Wasn’t pleased when you seized
My favorite possessions
I can’t believe the way you thieve
You need sophistication lessons
I’m not impressed how you guessed
And opened up my locker
You took the shorts I wear for sports
So I could not play soccer
I’m glad to say you soon will pay
It fills me with elation
I booked you a season with the French Foreign Legion
You really needed a vacation
by Richard W. Bray
Tags:Children's Literature, children's poetry, French foreign legion, Humor, humorous poetry, Poetry, practical jokes, revenge
Posted in Poetry for Kids | Leave a Comment »
October 11, 2010
Mud
Mary McCrae sent her son out to play
One sunny afternoon
Timmy McCrae and his friends they did stray
To a grimy green lagoon
They slithered and slid and crawled and hid
Among the muddy dunes
Digging and rigging and slopping and glopping
They built a loam pontoon
In a puddle of silt by the boat they had built
Timmy tried to douse
Some of the slime, mud, muck and grime
Before he reached his house
But he could not lose the trail of ooze
Which steadily grew behind him
(I could run away his mind did stray
But someone surely would find him)
As his house appeared poor Timmy feared
His mother would no doubt remind him
The new school threads laid out on his bed
Which Mary had bought for her son
Were not meant for play and there was no way
To explain what he had done
He couldn’t get away or sheepishly say
“Mom, I was just having fun!”
Correctly he guessed, she wouldn’t be impressed
If he told her that his side had won
Poor Timmy shuddered, his little heart sputtered
As he reached his front door
He wouldn’t be acquitted, nor even permitted
To play outside any more
He entered his house, mute as a mouse
His mother let out a great roar
But when she recovered, Timmy discovered
She did not completely deplore
The layers of slime, mud, muck, and grime
Encompassing her child
For in her own day Mary MaCrae
Was known to be a tad wild
by Richard W. Bray
Tags:Children's Literature, children's poetry, Humor, humorous poetry, Poetry
Posted in Poetry for Kids | Leave a Comment »
October 6, 2010

Entrepreneurial Hero
Davey had a bank account with several thousand bucks
And since he wasn’t using it, his money was just stuck
So I hauled it all away one day—I didn’t need any trucks
I just used the Internet. He has such awful luck
I bought everything I wanted till all my cash was spent
Clothes and electronics is where my dollars went
I telegraphed my parents for more money to be sent
But I’d done it all before; they couldn’t even pay the rent
Like poor starving Oliver, I merely wanted more
So I started my own business, selling gewgaws and what-fors
I wasn’t too successful, for it’s work that I deplore
So I issued bogus stocks and bonds and sold them door to door
At my Cayman Islands office, the trading was intense
Who would’ve ever guessed I had such business sense?
The feds came out to get me, so I ran and hopped a fence
Then I begged for clemency from foreign governments
Now you’ll find me locked up in a room without a view
For trying to serve my country with financial derring-do
Justice clearly wasn’t served, but what’s a guy to do?
I won’t get released until it’s 2092
by Richard W. Bray
Tags:capitalism, Children's Literature, children's poetry, Humor, humorous poetry, new york review of crooks, Poetry
Posted in Poetry for Kids | Leave a Comment »