Welcome to my poetry blog. I love reading Plath and Sexton and Dickenson and Maya. But to me, the best poets I have read are the unknows. The giants are great for sure, but the friends and locals and groups are a joy to participate in. I encourage everyone who writes poetry to be themselves. It is ok to have influences, but you should always in the end be yourself. There is only one them, and only one you.

Let words be your canvas, show them the raw you, in all your happiness and sadness. Show them your love of nature, and empathy and kindness, but also make them think, provoke, even blaspheme. The poet’s job to me, is to never be shy or timid, but use every word in your vocabulary to paint the best pictures you can. Paint your sunrises, your sunsets, your romance, your fears. Paint your insecurities, your addictions, your successes, your tears.

This blog is dedicated to my late mother Jane. She was my biggest supporter and never let me fall through the cracks. While she was a bit of an authoritarian growing up, that all melted away in her late years, and we grew as close as any parent child could. We had so much fun with our silly car games and rubber duckies, and counting the trees. And our wordplay games, and our thumb wrestling. And forget Yahtzee and backgammon, she always kicked my…… at that. I love you mom. I miss you horribly.

And also my late best friend ever, Bob. He unfortunately passed away in 2017. He lived in Australia, he was a science geek, and he taught me a lot about debate, and some science. I can only grasp overall concepts, not real nitty gritty details. But he most importantly made me feel comfortable in my own skin. I miss you too Bob.

Then there is this annoying guy from Okleeee homa, who says “tators”, and “videeeaaaa” instead of “video”. And don’t get John started on banjos. He is my best friend and he is always there for me, and I love that redneck.

And also Dwayne, Stacey and Vicki. You saved my life all of you. Thank you.

All poetry posted by me on this website is attached to RationalPoet@brianrrs37, handle “RationalPoet” on Twitter ,as well as “Brian James Rational Poet” on Facebook/ META. And is subject to copywrite on all my pages.

A Special thanks to Brian Sapient of Rational Responders http://www.rationalresponders.com for hosting my poetry thread for so long. Thank you.

AND….. YOU are more than welcome to share this link on your social media. Especially Meta and Twitter, but your own social media too. Any help bringing traffic here is more than welcome. THANK YOU. You may not publish individual poems without my express permission. Any links to my poetry must be credited to me.

This poetry blog may contain some material that may be considered sensitive to some viewers. Reader discretion advised.

Now, everyone, grab your popcorn, glass of wine, and watch me make a fool of myself. Enjoy.

HEADS UP….. THERE ARE PEOPLE MIMICKING MY TWITTER ACCOUNTS……

I only have two Twitter/X accounts. Twitter has now changed it’s name to “X”. So all poetry in this site referencing Twitter is also including the new name “X”.

“RationalPoet@brianrrs37”
AND
“Brian@rationalpoet37”

I have also joined Facebook/META poetry group “Facebook Poetry Society” Under “Brian James Rational Poet”

Also I just joined http://www.allpoetry.com under the user name “RationalPoet37”

THERE ARE MORE PAGES. WHEN YOU GET TO THE BOTTOM OF EACH PAGE, in mice print….. It says “Next Page”. <—-CLICK ON THAT.

NEW EDIT………


A special thanks to Zaylen of “Okay Atheists” on the Discord app, for allowing me to guest host this poetry reading available on their YouTube channel originally aired 5/22/23. Here is the link
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=i_ikCkc7lWE

If you want to leave a comment to any poem, click on the BOLD title of the poem first, scroll to the bottom of the poem, and you should see a field to leave the comment in.

UPDATE EDIT AS OF 11/13/2024. I have a new account at Bluesky Soical under the handle @rationalpoet37.bsky.social .

 

 

Acquiesce, By Brian37 (AKA Brian James Rational Poet on FB/META and @Brianrrs37 on Twitter)

There is no solace
For the terminal
Grim wonderment

The concoctions
Of other worlds
Of an afterlife

Stress and fear
Linger near
Even on a face of the brave

There is no solace
In the unknown
When the pulse is gone

What lies beyond
Is the same
As that before

The rest is lore
You breath no more
Look up to the sky

Look down at the floor
Hands clasped together
Content as a beggar

You try to bargain
To no avail, told your story
They mourn and wail

There is no solace
For the honest
The only option

That is certain
Is to acquiesce
To the inevitable

To be valued
To be loved
To be remembered

There is no other reward.
(end)

Seeing It Coming, By Brian37 (AKA Brian James Rational Poet on FB/META and @Brianrss37 on Twitter)

To look in their eyes
Knowing the clock
Does not care
You don’t know

The exact second
Of when, even if where
I watched an episode
Jo the friend of Blair

She had a teacher
She became close to
However she was
Unaware

She was dying
And when Jo found out
She had to face her
The pain and endless crying

In the presence
Of the loved in decline
The courage of facing
The last tick of time

This episode brutal
Yet compassionate
And kind, reminded
Me of my mother

In her last days alive
In the face of oblivion
Her only worry was me
Her only son

And I was the one
To hold her hand
In her last hours
To comfort her

Knowing death towered
The escape no one gets
But to have that life with her
Absolutely no regrets.
(end)

Today I was watching an old rerun of “The Facts Of Life” and Jo became close friends with an English teacher and at first, as the script goes, thought the teacher was moving to another school for more money, but it turned out the teacher was dying.

My mom has been gone for 6 years now, but watching that episode tore me up, because I know the feeling of seeing those facing death, and it is a horrifying feeling to know what they must be facing, but also the courage to be there for them in their last moments. You do the crying alone. Truth was, she was always braver than me. I knew she was afraid, but in her last weeks she was more concerned about me than anything else.

Lipstick Face, By Brian37 (AKA Brian James Rational Poet on FB/META and @Brianrrs37 on Twitter)

She traced her face
On the mirror
Flowing hair
One eye with tear

No one
Diagnosed her
But everyone
Had her to fear

Under the radar
No one wanted to see
How dangerous she was
In the end she went too far

No record
At time of buy
They couldn’t
Take it from her

She sent many
A warning sign
But she couldn’t
Be stopped in time

Wet cloths
In the dresser
Rotted meat
In the refrigerator

Laurie took her pain
Into a grade school room
Something snapped in her
A child met his doom

Wade in the blood
It happens far to much
Lipstick on the mirror
Another kick in the gut

The cowards on the right
Refuse to stand up and fight
The epic firearm death
Happening day and night

This happened in 88
Countless have met their fate
The death toll keeps on rising
At an alarming rate.
(end)

I have insomnia so I decided to see if I could find an old Valarie Bertinelli TV movie. But I had forgotten the plot. All I remember was that she portrayed a real mentally ill person. I remember the scene where she promised her husband she was going to change and she got all dressed up, cleaned the house, got dinner ready for him. But when he went to his dresser all his cloths were wet. I had forgotten the gun part and the killing part. But now it infuriates me even more because nothing has solved the firearm violence epidemic since.

But there were lots of hints even before that something was not right with Laurie Dann (played by Valarie Bertinelli). The real husband warned police that she had purchased a gun. But the law at the time could not confiscate it from her. Laurie Dann went into grade school classroom and shot several kids, of which one boy died.

After leaving the school she crossed the neighborhood and took a mother and son hostage. Initially she let the mother go, but shot the son, he managed to escape and survived. Laurie Dann ended up committing suicide on the second floor of the house she ran into.

The TV movie is called “Murder Of Innocence” staring Valarie Bertinelli. It is an unfortunate reminder that the GOP and the gun industry obstruct or gut any safety laws that could prevent events like this.

And here we are again, just like Virginia Tech, now Nashville, decades since 1988. These fuckers keep saying “Just keep them out of the wrong hands”, but nothing gets done and more people needlessly die.

“Lipstick Face” as the title is based on the images portrayed in the movie, which I would guess were based on family and police reports where she traced her face in the mirror with lipstick and a tear in one eye.

The Things Not Seen, By Brian37 (AKA Brian James Rational Poet on FB/META and @Brianrrs37 on Twitter)

Oh how they prattle
On about the invisible
That this all powerful
Mysterious ways are knowable

It is inconceivable
To the fervent faithful
That their life is finite
Their book is empty promises

The fool’s gold, the pyrite
They look at the sky at night
The pretty stars of speckled light
If no God to cause, gives them a fright

If such to question
They will scorn
You owe this being
For being born

This thing not seen
Consumes their life
If others don’t follow
They cause you strife

The projection of
Their own egos
Insecurities
Languished throws

Cast in fire
Down below
Hollow threats
They bestow

The things unseen
Of this I know
Antiquity’s ignorance
Wrapped in a bow.
(end)

I think this is self explanatory.