Thinking v. Feeling
Poet said We think by feeling
A thought that echoes Hume
No logic-minded being
Would genuflect at tombs
We feel therefore we think
Is what they’re finding out
This unappealing link
Is Descartes turned inside out
With a touch of intervention
From our modern frontal lobe
My breed maintains ascension
On our lovely little globe
Toughest on the block
With more appetite than smarts
Condemned to rule this rock
For the cravings of the heart
by Richard W. Bray
Dishes
Are the dishes in the dishwasher clean?
Did you forget to turn on the machine?
Are the dishes in the dishwasher clean?
Why are they foul and obscene?
Are the dishes in the dishwasher clean?
They s lack all luster and sheen.
Are the dishes in the dishwasher clean?
Why are they yucky moldy green?
Are the dishes in the dishwasher clean?
You look confused; don’t you know what I mean?
Are the dishes in the dishwasher clean?
by Richard W. Bray
Lies
The sky is green
The sea is pink
Babies don’t cry
And shit don’t stink
Money is sacred
People are not
What’s important
Is what you got
War is good
Bombs are smart
Might makes right
Killing is art
Anarchy is freedom
Lies are true
God loves us
More’n He loves you
Theft is liberation
Democracy, sublime
Self-defense is terror
Resistance is a crime
The sky is green
The sea is pink
Babies don’t cry
And shit don’t stink
by Richard W. Bray
A face devoid of love or grace,
A hateful, hard, successful face,
Devoid
I’ve studied all one needs to know ‘bout every little thing
I’ve scoured the biographies of philosophes and kings
I’ve meditated countless hours on all that I have learned
And I’ve concluded modestly that clearly I have earned
The right to state objectively that all I would proclaim
Is exactly what should be, and wouldn’t it be a shame
If Lilliputian intellects and putrid second-raters
Or lily-livered losers and unmanly imitators
Would dare to think that they possess grit and gut and gall
To interrupt my project for the benefit of all?
Undermined by cowards and their miniscule bereavements
Who could not comprehend the scope of my achievement
Like pesky little gnats, they hindered my attention
Allowing mediocrities to cancel my ascension
These trifling mental midgets who dared to halt my plans
Don’t deserve to share the planet with a real fighting man
They can analyze the metrics until the end of time
And never comprehend the dimensions of their crime
When assessing this fiasco, please do not involve me
For I have every confidence that history will absolve me
by Richard W. Bray
The Easy Way
My friend Sal looks really great
From fifteen years of lifting weight
I got buff the easy way
Photoshop in just one day
Credit cards are awfully nice
Until you have to pay the price
One day they hauled my stuff away
For buying things the easy way
My septic tank began to spew
I fixed it with some super glue
Then it burst one smelly day
The perils of the easy way
When it got too trashed for play
I packed up and moved away
Ain’t it always like I say?
Why not try the easy way?
Manual labor is awfully hard
And why should I clean my new yard?
Why not try the easy way?
And burn my troubles all away
Things don’t always go as planned
That little fire got out of hand
The fire chief hauled me away
For doing things the easy way
by Richard W. Bray
sports shorts
Serve and volley and attack
Whack that ball, I’ll whack it back
I’m about to bust my spleen
The score is only Love-fifteen
My ball’s brown and your ball’s green
Whydya’ hafta’ be so mean?
You just knocked my ball away
Nice guys just shouldn’t play croquet
Run and run and kick the ball
Run some more and take a fall
They kick your knees, they kick your shin
You still go out and run again
Spin and aim and throw and grunt
Putting shot is quite a stunt
But when the shot put’s in the air
Folks around had best beware
Red lines, blue lines guys with sticks
And pucks that feel as hard as bricks
But I can barely tie my skates
A hockey star won’t be my fate
by Richard W. Bray
Exceptionalism
Time for you to move
We vanquish all we see
It’s written and it’s manifest
None thwart our destiny
Only fools oppose us
We’ll squash you all like bugs
Those who won’t stand with us
Are the real thugs
Our creed is tried and tested
Our cause is pure and just
We aren’t doing what we should
We do the things we must
We never say we’re sorry
That would make us weak
We know that God is with us
Mighty Glory we shall seek
We’re right because we’re righteous
That makes us good and true
We needn’t bother listening
To anyone like you
by Richard W. Bray
Likely Stories
I got an alligator
I feed him every day
That’s why friends and neighbors
Never come and play
My buddy got a race car
And drove to Timbuktu
Holler when he’s zooming by
And he will wave at you
My uncle got a rowboat
He takes it to the lake
He don’t catch no fishies
He’d rather eat a snake
My brother got a trumpet
He plays it all night long
He never took no lessons
He only knows one song
My neighbor got a rhino
He keeps it in his yard
We were playing football
It hit me really hard
My teacher got a schoolbook
To teach me how to read
When he tried to teach too much
It made my psyche bleed
My roommate made a rocket
And took it to the moon
He just sent a postcard
He’s coming back in June
My sister got a scooter
She took it to the zoo
A tiger tried to take it
Got kicked in the wazoo
by Richard W. Bray
Yes and No
Paradox and irony perplex the mind of man
The latter happens when we seek a god who has a plan
And the former is the find of all who hope to understand
Our limited perceptions and our overactive brains
Leave us ill-equipped, yet so hungry to explain
It’s a wonder every one of us hasn’t gone insane
Our vices and our virtues correspond, you see
And the rightness of an action depends upon degree
When is cowardice mere prudence? Buddy, you tell me
Auden heard a Whisper, declaring it was sad
But vanities and envies were really all we had
And love was an illusion, or just a silly fad
Like so many questions that might occur to you
One could spend a lifetime trying to pursue
All the implications of whether this were true?
Years of contemplation that you could undergo
Ruminating endlessly until it’s time to go
Is folly for the answer is simply “yes and no”
by Richard W. Bray
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
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