Parents used to tell their kids
Just go outside and play
Now they’re scared to let them out
We lock them up all day
Parents used to give their kids
Active, sporty toys
A set of blocks, a rubber ball
For healthy girls and boys
Get outside and move around
Every boy and girl
Engage your body and your mind
And feel this living world
By Richard W. Bray
I like to eat a sandwich
With pickles and sardines
I step on every crack
And my room is never clean
You got a picture in your head
The guy I’m sposed to be
I don’t care what anybody says
I’m just gonna be me
I wear my jammies all day long
I sleep in a tuxedo
Take me out to dinner
And I’ll wear my brand new Speedos
A body needs some freedom
Wouldn’t you agree?
I don’t care what anybody says
I’m just gonna be me
Nobody should believe
What everybody knows
All the grownups bow to kings
Who don’t have any clothes
You got a picture in your head
The guy I’m sposed to be
I don’t care what anybody says
I’m just gonna be me
By Richard W. Bray
Hello Hello
It’s nice to me you
I’m such a happy little girl
That’s my mommy
That’s my grandpa
It’s a happy sunshine world
I hope somebody loves you
Are you lucky
Just like me?
Everybody
Should be happy
I love everyone I see
by Richard W. Bray
everybody has a sparkle
light is what we are
every atom in your body
grew up inside a star
everybody has a sparkle
it isn’t hard to see
everybody’s got a dream
who they wanna be
folks who got a broken sparkle
damaged in the head
they want to kill your sparkle
cuz all their dreams are dead
do you know somebody
who’s angry sad and mean?
their figure barely sparkles
like a busted old machine?
gotta feed your sparkle
gotta nurture others too
gotta love your neighbor
to be the best you
by Richard W. Bray
A. Philip Randolph
The power of poco a poco
You fix your eyes and organize for years
The haters keep saying you’re loco
Then one day a brand new way appears
The power of poco a poco
The power of effort and time
The power of people together
The beauty of the hill is the climb
by Richard W. Bray
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
Hear it in the playground
Skip and jump and run
Absorb the glowing passion
Inside brilliant beams of sun
Hear it in the ocean
Smell it on the dew
Open up your pores
Every day is new
Hear it in the birdsong
Feel it in the rain
Don’t shut off the universe
To filter out the pain
By Richard W. Bray
Stinky Thinky said:
Why did God create me?
Everything is wrong
The universe must hate me
Stinky Thinky said:
She asked me for my name
She probably wants my money
Or maybe she’s insane
Stinky Thinky said:
There’s a spot on my skin
I’m probably gonna die
I’m calling all my kin
Stinky Thinky said:
I’m looking out for you
I don’t tell you things
Cuz it makes you so blue
Stinky Thinky said:
Life is such a shame
So much evil in the world
I take all the blame
Stinky Thinky hides
From all of his actions
By creating a storm
Of noise and distraction
by Richard W. Bray
maybe when the grownups
start acting grown
we’ll stop choosing money
over flesh and bone
maybe when the grownups
start acting grown
we’ll send compassion
instead of drones
maybe when the grownups
start acting grown
we’ll pick up a child
and put down the phone
maybe when the grownups
start acting grown
we’ll take care of each other
and cast away stones
by Richard W. Bray
Abuse and sting and mock and shame
Afflicting torment like a game
Find a person you can break
And feed the universal ache
Careless quips and mutilations
Stabs and wounds and lacerations
Snubs and swipes and small offenses
Brutal taunts that stun the senses
Tell yourself that you are brave
Or moan you’re just a cosmic slave
Who only does what others do
Attacking all who damage you
Maybe that’s just what we are
Scorpions inside a jar
Or maybe you use poison darts
To build a cage around your heart
by Richard W. Bray
