The shapes a bright container can contain!
—Theodore Roethke, I Knew a Woman
The shapes and colors you contain
Paralyze my lonesome brain
It did not lessen your appeal
When you suggested I get real
Who I am and who you are
Mean I must love you from afar
I hear the voice of sanity
Saying how it’s gotta be:
“Forget her smile, her voice, her hair
Cry a lot and look elsewhere”
I should just give up on love
My hopeless heart has had enough
by Richard W. Bray
—William Shakespeare, Sonnet 116
I love you when you’re mean
I love you when you’re mad
I love you when you’re angry
I love you when you’re bad
Love is not a smorgasbord
For me to pick and choose
Always have to clean my plate
When I’m digesting you
I love you when you pout
I love you when you cry
I love you when you’re dirty
I’ll love you till I die
Love is not a sometimes thing
Love is not a switch
I love you as an angel
I love you as a bitch
by Richard W. Bray
Everything
I say and do
Has a single
Purpose
I long to know
The tender soul
That lurks below
The surface
Ramparts guard
A supple heart
Bruised to
Hesitation
Time to go
Cuz she says “No”
And gives no
Indication
What I adore
Is nothing more
Than my
Imagination
by Richard W. Bray
I should never forgive myself
for what I did to you
I should never forget
what I put you through
I should never forget how I pulled
your world apart
I should never forget I got
a crooked crooked heart
What always happens
When the lovin ends?
Somebody loses
But nobody
Ever wins
Been on both sides
Of that barbed and
Jagged fence
I got and I gave
Misery intense
I bled and
I bludgeoned
Just for a kiss
That’s all I got left
In love’s reminisce
by Richard W. Bray
I think about you so much
My guts are getting raw
I wanna cook with your mama
And hunt with your paw
I wanna meet your crazy uncle
Who lives out in a shed
I wanna see you every night
Sleepin in my bed
Your face looks so delicious
I really wanna kiss it
You’re everything I need
To remedy my wishin
I work fourteen hours every day
Just to be the man
Who’s good enough to be with you
And hold your lovin hand
Whatever makes you happy
That’s what I aim to do
I’ll dig a garden with a soupspoon
Just to be with you
Your face looks so delicious
I really wanna kiss it
You’re everything I need
To remedy my wishin
by Richard W. Bray
Everybody tells me
There is nothing I can do
The Improbable of love
The faraway of you
Removing my own heart
With a butter knife
The cruelty of love
The absurdity of life
Hope perched on a star
And dreams made out of dust
The ridiculous of love
The impossible of us
Blind to reality
That anyone could see
The temerity of love
The insanity of me
by Richard W. Bray
The greater the love, the more false to its object
—W.H. Auden, The Dead Echo
You said you liked me for a friend
And I was sure my life would end
I found a hole
To crawl inside
I starved my soul
But I survived
You said you liked me for a friend
And I was sure my life would end
I drank up a distillery
I puked up blood and bile
I crucified my crazy heart
Because I missed your smile
You said you liked me for a friend
And I was sure my life would end
I put my body through the ringer
I’m lucky I’m not dead
Playing out a melodrama
All inside my head
by Richard W. Bray
It won’t end well:
This craving for connection
There always will be blood
When we seek affection
You’ll never cure your heart
It’s a terrible infection
Jealousy and tyranny
Resentment and rejection
The love I thought I saw
Was just my own reflection
Love is a barb
That cuts in all directions
by Richard W. Bray
I ain’t no kid
Knocking at your door
Time to decide
If it’s a man
You’re looking for
If you’re ready for a guy who likes
Flowers and fourth dates
Monogamy and free weights
A real man done shown up
And I’ll love you like a grownup
Put away your knickknacks
Your dollies
And your toys
When you’re ready
To forget about
All those little boys
If you’re ready for a guy
With tools and a hardhat
Who isn’t here to play that
A real man done shown up
And I’ll love you like a grownup
Other guys got bathrooms
That are bigger than my yard
Other guys are loaded
But they never work too hard
I got your laughter
And your smile and your grace
And I’m the only one
Who gets to kiss your pretty face
Other guys are tall and tan
With perfect teeth and hair
Other guys got fancy cars
And fifty more to spare
I got you in the morning
And I got you at night
I got you in my bed
And that makes everything alright
Other guys are famous
Because they sing in bands
Other guys got tv shows
And rabid screaming fans
I got your wisdom
And your friendship and your time
Not sure how I did it
But I’m glad I made you mine
by Richard W. Bray
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