Songwriter

It’s a cultural thing,
I enjoy the storytelling
of how the event takes place
leading up to the song
or poem’s creation –
Then to express the same
emotion and brain-heart-spirit
interaction as when the original
was written, no less than
Billy Joel or Carly Simon might
To overcome the shallow
dumbing-down of America
by Donald J. Trump –
That’s my intent and my
purpose for living,
to nurture life, Carpe Diem!

Old Poet Remembering

With any luck new small poems
Will gather under you like chicks
Waiting to be hatched, looking
For a parent, crawling under you
For nourishment and warmth.
They will surprise you like
A new language
You don’t remember studying
Or even signing up for.
With any luck,
You’ll become obsessed,
Try publishing your first book and
If you don’t lose your shirt,
Do it again and again.
Travel through three counties,
Maybe four, attending Open Mics –
Become a Featured Artist,
Once, twice, three times –
Win a few prizes.
Put aside some escrow money
From your home sale
To finance your second book.
But be steady, keep your day jobs
Despite the convulsing economy,
Wrap yourself in your poems,
Your identity is unique.
It may not feed your cats at the door
But it will amuse you
When you least expect it
and last your lifetime.

Retiring Poet Today

I retired today,
gave up the Ghost
of Self-Employment,
hung up the guns,
put the quiver of arrows
and the bow away,
settled into my
retirement avocation,
writing out the Blues,
Greens and Burning Reds
and Oranges of a poet’s life.
Oh, you may still
see me working around town,
poet’s pay really sucks,
so I loan myself out
to the squirrels and bluejays
and feral cats,
I’m their amusement,
even wild stock like poets
and street animals
need to laugh
and be be fed regularly
if not occasionally.

Courtesy of Peter Bray

I’ve Been Better
and I’ve Been Worse

I’ve been better and I’ve been worse,
I’ve seen the angels and the darkened hearse.
I’ve lost love and I’ve been found,
I’ve been so down I’ve been Underground!

BUT, I’ve been better and I’ve been worse,
I’ve been last and I’ve been first.
I’ve seen Love take ahold of me,
treat me to both the Birds and the Bees!

But, I’ve been better and I’ve been worse,
I’ve been last and I’ve been first.
I nearly drowned in a Sea of Love,
Thank God for rocks and the stars above!

But, I’ve been better and I’ve been worse,
I’ve been last and I’ve been first.
I used to think that life should be so sweet,
a candybar or a weekend treat.
Now I know it takes a lot of work,
you’re either an angel or a Piece of work!
And I’ve been better and…I’ve been worse!

Soon to be seen or heard on Youtube.com,
as performed LIVE at Poetry Express
Berkeley, California, 6/26/2017.
Audio by Benicia’s Tom Stanton –

Peter Bray lives, works, and writes in Benicia
and has written this column since 2008.

Sharing is caring!