Posts Tagged ‘children’s poetry’

Birds Gotta Swim

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

all the rythms of life

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

MommyDaddy told me

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

Solid Bliss

October 15, 2017

They storm the Earth and stun the Air,
A Mob of solid Bliss –

Emily Dickinson

Stir some dust
And make some noise
A mob of happy
Girls and boys

Romp and stomp
And kick your heels
Listen how
Your body feels

Play and laugh
And squeal and shout
Bounce your feelings
All about

by Richard W. Bray

Sloppy Jay

September 23, 2017

In disheveled disarray
Careless messy Sloppy Jay
Putters on his merry way

He leaves a trail of pickles and moss
And stones and sticks and taco sauce
A slapdash chain of dregs and dross

Cruel teachers and angry aunts
Sling a thousand bitter taunts
For Jay’s apparent nonchalance

Inside this squall of anarchy
Lurks a soul enchanted and free
Discard your spite and you could see

by Richard W. Bray

Pull Away from the Screen

August 12, 2017

Pull away from the screen
Put on your ramblin’ shoes
Get yourself outside
Or you’re gonna blow a fuse

Say hello to your body
Run and jump around
Try and race your shadow
To the other end of town

Take a walk in the forest
And hug the nearest tree
If you listen it will tell you
How to set your spirit free

The world is interactive
And the graphics are sublime
Open up your senses
And hear the cosmos chime

by Richard W. Bray

harmony of movement

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

Don’t Wake Me Up for Anything

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

Happy-Spangled Day

May 1, 2014

Cute happy boy in red baseball cap

Fresh and springy
Sunny day
Flowers pushing
Up to say
“Live your
Happy-spangled day
And mosey on
Your special way”

Burst it out
And don’t be coy
Smell the colors
Live the joy
Be a playful
Bouncy boy
The universe
Will be your toy

by Richard W. Bray

Moochers

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