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 .

 

 

Thesaurus By Brian37 (AKA Brian James Rational Poet on FB/META and @brianrrs37 on Twitter)

Worn out
Like tire treads
No alignment

I find the usual haunts
Of my lexicon
Rearing up again

Groundhog day
I’ve nothing to say
I haven’t said before

I desperately want more
The scratched vinyl
Skips, skips, skips

I want to smash
This album
Over my knee

The juke box
Only has
So many songs

My selections
Exhausted
On fumes it seems

I repeat, repeat
Repeat , repeat
Repeat, repeat.
(end)

I also get frustrated with myself when I overuse a word. “Utopia, futile, folly” are some that I get tired of popping in my head every time I want to write.

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

Nestled in the carrier
Unaware, unaware
Curled up in balls

Paws on paws
Insomnia, cursed mouse
I move about

Bone white background
Black print taps out
Words that struggle

To come out
I want a subject
To shout shout shout

It won’t come out
It’s locked in
Where ever it is

Muffled, murmur
Cloaked in silence
Chained inside me

And they sleep
Peacefully
Unaware nothing’s in me

Frustration they cant see
When will the next one
Be ready to read?

I hate this retched subject
It’s been too many times
I write about the things

That are not on my mind
My brain, is stuck
In a bind

And they sleep, unaware.
(end)

I get frustrated when I cant find something deep and serious to write about. I start something, then scrap it. I move my mouse around and around like fiddling my fingers. I pop back and forth to other pages hoping reading other things will spark a poem.

And my kittens, content and off in slumber, don’t know how frustrated I am right now. I am putting trinket poems out right now. I like what I am writing but I am not feeling the BOOOOM I have with some of my others.

I wrote this poem at 2am approximately. Insomnia sucks, and lack of inspiration sucks. But my kittens, at least they are happy.

No Other Reason, By Brian37 (AKA Brian James Rational Poet on FB/META and @Brianrrs37)

It is folly, and futile
To chase utopias
When creativity

Is what you want
The world to see
Your name in lights
On a marquee

It is not
The reason to be
A miserable life

Is in store for thee
If the expectation
Is that fantasy

If you just
Put it down
If you just

Swim around
Somehow, somehow
Someday, you’ll be found

Hollywood and Vine
On dead careers it dines
To never get off the ground

If you sing that note
That makes tears flow
If you write the prose

Who knows, who knows?
It cannot be, the fantasy
You chase for dreams of wealth

It cannot be, the fantasy
That everyone wants
An autograph from thee

Poetry, is at least for me
And will always be
The love of it alone

My payments not cash
Or cars of flash
Or travel first class

For there are millions
Like me, in history
Most unknown

And will never be, famous.
(end)

If you love doing something, by all means do it, don’t stop doing it. But poetry, like painters, like comedians, like sports stars, like actors, like musicians, most do not become nationally famous or world famous or rich.
If you write poetry, you have to do it for the love of if alone, the therapy. That has to be first. Now, maybe someday you defy the odds and some publisher notices you who can put you on the map. But the vast majority, no. That will not happen for most.

So always write from the heart for you, and your readers first. Do it for the therapy first. And if all you can do is write on your off time, or in your retirement and others get joy and therapy out of it. THAT is your first reward, and your most important reward.

How Gems Are Born, (AKA Brian James Rational Poet on FB/META and @Brianrrs37 on Twitter)

To say

“pens don’t matter”

To say

“Awful poems don’t matter”

To say

“Just move on”

Is to ignore

The imperfect

The discarded

The cracked sidewalk

The perilous cliff

The scraped knees

The constant uncertainty

The discomfort of being

Outside your comfort

Zone.
(end)

I have been told many times over 30 years that my poetry sucks. I always ask that person, “Which one?”. I cannot nor will ever claim every piece is brilliant. But I put every single piece of work out there, good and bad, because it is how I keep moving.

Most artists, be they painters or poets hide their not so good ones, but not me. I want people to see all of my work so that they will be inspired to keep going. It isn’t about failure, it isn’t about fear. It is about putting it all out there, so that people can see that stopping is the worst thing an artist can do to the world out of some sense of insecurity.

The world is imperfect, and to say you have to be a perfectionist in art is to limit yourself and set yourself up for the ultimate failure of quitting. I look at my poetry much like a high speed automatic camera. I just keep shooting and shooting and shooting, and not every picture will be brilliant, but occasionally you take one that people really like.

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

If you would not want
Your kitten’s food bowl
Barren

If you would not want
You child swimming
In a dirty pool

Then we as humans
Have to stop ignoring
The warning signs we have

The honey bee
The monarch butterfly
I remember the Native American

Atop his horse
With a tear in his eye
The algae bloom

Killing the sea grass
The gentile sea cow
Is swimming in trash

Desperate they are
Feeding them lettuce
On the brink

We’re causing this mess
If we don’t stop it
We will be next

Coal mine species
Swim in sunshine rivers
Mermaids of gray

We are on our way
To our own deaths
Human’s last breath.
(END)

This poem is about of course, the Manatee in South Florida. Global warming is causing more algae blooms which is killing the natural sea grass of the Manatee, plus our pollution it may accidentally swallow, or our boats hitting them. But this is one “canary in the coalmine” species that is under constant threat, and it is a warning to us, that if we do not stop global warming and stop polluting our planet we will be sealing our own doom.

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

If you are

Drunk on Mohammed

Drunk on Jesus

Drunk on Yahweh

Drunk on all the rest

You can make

Any excuse

To claim superiority

To justify

Abuse

That is why

Of religion

I find absolutely no use.

(end)