This was supposed to be Part 2 of the column, “Pieces of Work” about my ever-evolving employment history, but that’s more of an odyssey than this writer wants to deal with right now, so my apologies for any angst I may have caused. I’d rather share a few recent pieces, scenes about town, much more fun to write about and contemplate:

I am an Old Door

I am an old door,
you’ve been through me before.
Many have knocked,
and even pounded for entrance,
and some walked away
when I appeared
not to be listening,
but I was.
I’ve lost my original
paint and hinges years ago,
and had them replaced
and even been tweaked and twisted
by more than one prying locksmith
and had to give up my secrets.
Knock again and let’s talk.
I’m older now
but won’t be around forever.
©Peter Bray 4/10/16
All rights reserved

I am the Kitty
(Written ekphrastically for Cecile McNulty’s painting “The Kitty” as
a part of Arts Benicia’s recent show,“Art of a Community.”)

I am the kitty. I am pet-able and definitely not-forgetable, ask any child. I am the epitome of contrasts. I am lovable and soft, warm, cuddly, pleasant and a wonder, but I am also the Sphinx, unknown, bigger than life, mysterious and can be distant. I am both uniform in pattern and color and can be as asymmetric as a starburst. My details both wonder, astound, and confuse. I am a beauty and a walking riddle. I am a cuddlesome friend and as deep and distant as the non-circular irises of my eyes.
I will study you, don’t be surprised. I’d love to be your pet and I will do it without bounds, but I also have my own agenda which is sometimes even unknown to me. I am the kitty, let’s eat. We can discuss it, you start.
©Peter Bray 2/10/2018
All rights reserved

The Naked Oyster

I’m the spirit of the Benicia waterfront,
old shipwrights and ghosts of ferry captains
used to be found here, along with cousins
of early Pony Express riders,
foggily or in the clear imagination
of my mind –
A combination of sea salt
and old ship timbers,
waves lapping against support pilings,
aromas of seafood grilling and garlic
ever-present, vodka-tonics
sliding down shiny bars where lipstick
and roses out for the evening
meander in darkened corners.
©Peter Bray 2/11/2018
All rights reserved

Conquistadores and Us
In the beginning there were the native Americans,
the Conquistadores, and us…

In the early 1980s, we ate at the Commandant’s. It was historic and romantic but the second time, something was off, the service dragged and in a few weeks they closed. We catered at the Clocktower many times for years and worked as volunteers at events at The Camel Barn, the Benicia Historical Museum. Our daughter Cathy married at the Camel Barn, and we built a Gazebo and the outdoor wedding was in their parking lot. We danced in the great hall in memory of the Army’s camels but few could RSVP and attend. Cathy arrived in a carriage pulled by a white show horse. Later, Janice and I married in town and we decorated the Camel Barn for our reception, we arrived in a limo and it was all pretty spectacular. We served as volunteers in the early restoration of the Commanding Officer’s Quarters and lobbied to keep the Coke Domes out of Benicia’s Industrial Park. No one needs acid rain coming in from China, and Benicia gains nothing from processing Contra Costa County’s armpit of black refinery coke. What we learned from Saving The Lido on the Benicia waterfront we applied everywhere else in town. When Benicia Literary Arts had events at the Commanding Officer’s Quarters, I photographed them and added them to their website. The cannons of the Clocktower no longer fire into the Strait, the Conquistadores have all gone elsewhere, and the native Americans are planning their return.
©Peter Bray 2/27/2018
All rights reserved

PB Bio for an upcoming anthology
by Benicia’s First Tuesday Poets

Peter Bray is a graduate of UC Berkeley and a Benicia resident since 1983. He’s written and published three chapbooks, a half-dozen websites, a DVD, and has 16 original songs on youtube.com. He’s written a column, “The A Cappella Handyman” for the Benicia Herald since 2008 and won the Benicia Love Poetry Contest that same year. He’s a member of Benicia’s First Tuesday Poets, Benicia Literary Arts, the Ina Coolbrith Poetry Circle, and the Academy of American Poets. His creative newsletter, “Taproot & Aniseweed” has been in nearly continuous publication since 1987.
©Peter Bray 3/4/2018
All rights reserved

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