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 .

 

 

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

Clouds of heat

Followed by winter

The inventions of

Conceits

Humans self defeat

Unnatural clouds

Silence crowds

Vaporized black stains

Burn sidewalks

We become

Hiroshima, Nagasaki

Can unfortunately

Happen globally.

Dear Kelly, By Brian James Rational Poet on FB/META and @brianrrs37 on Twitter)

I know
You were
Just a character

But I needed you
When I was much younger
I was hiding under

Anything I could
On the playground
Hoping you would

Rescue me
Like you did
The boy

At the amusement
Park, or save me
From my abusive

Dad, Kelly
Kelly, Kelly
Help me, help me

Kelly, you were
The hero I needed
The angel I’d believe in

Kelly
I watched you
On TV

Back in the 70s
Desperately
Wanting you

To jump through
The TV screen
And rescue me

Kelly
I could only dream
Wished you’d hear

My screams
Help me, help me
Kelly!

Kelly
I’m an old
Man now

It’s ok Kelly
I survived
I’m still alive

Kelly
You’ll always be
My hero.
(end)

This is an ode poem to Jacklyn Smith as Kelly Garrett. There are two specific episodes even today, when I watch them, I cry. The one where she saves the kid at the amusement park. And then the other episode where she confronts an abusive father who is a cop.

I was bullied as a kid. But I would escape into Charlie’s Angels and wish Kelly could jump through the TV screen and rescue me.

That Woman In Print, By Brianrrs37 (AKA Brian James Rational Poet on FB/META and @brianrrs37 on Twitter)

I knew the moment
Sylvia spoke your name
My pen was burning
It got so warm
As I moved across your lines
My eyes aching with anticipation

I read your dark words at the table
I tried to write, but I was not able
You drew me into your kind
Hypnotized, by your dark mind

That women in print, writes mystery
She’s everything a poet should be
That woman in print, has a hold on me
I have no control, I’ll never be free

She’s a poet
Not an amateur anymore
The kind that stirs up inspiration
She writes to kill
I’ll take her pill
Into her world of imagination

I see that dark print on the table
I cant resist, my eyes are not able
She traps me in, feeds me well
Writes of Van Gogh, stories to tell

That woman in print
Escape she wont let
Me turn back now
I’m a fool for her prose
And she knows how

She’s my mistress
Long since gone
I read her now
But I was not born
That woman in print
Got a hold on me
I read her every day
She won’t set me free.
(end)

An ode to Anne Sexton, but if you detected some foreign sounding words, you are a good sleuth. And also an ode to Foreigner.

Dark Side Of The Poetry (AKA Brian James Rational Poet on FB/META and @brianrrs37 on Twitter)

Pink Floyd
You enjoyed
“The Machine”
Dirty not clean
Walls and masonry
Calls for insanity
Teachers of vanity
Have your pudding
Keep the kids
Incessant rings
Phone call ends.

Care For A Bite? By Brian37 (AKA Brian James Rational Poet on FB/META and @brianrrs37 on Twitter)

Thank you mom
I was only nine
Dad’s teaching friend
Owned a theater

And you
Thought it would be fine
To take me there
To watch it dine

It swam around
Stalking a swimmer
After nightfall
Ate her for dinner

Thank you mom
I was only nine
To watch the boy die
Scrambled my mind

But surely there’d be
A way to stop this
The Orca and beer kegs
Painted like busses

The arrow tooth monster
Got one after another
But it took them down
Like they were nothing

It drug the boat
Killing the engine
They had nothing left
The scientist caged then

But it destroyed it
Hooper lost his spear
Swam to the bottom
Without his poison

The two on the top
Were all that were left
The boat a sitting duck
On the bow it did break

It took on water
Listing to the back
He couldn’t hold on
He slid down the deck

Into it’s mouth
Quint bitten in half
Thank you mom
I was only 9.
(end)

My dad had a fellow high school teacher whom also owned a movie theater back when there were only one or two screens in one building. Back in 75 my mom took me to see the first Jaws. No nightmares for me, nadda, none, zippo. Did I mention I have a bridge in Brooklyn I’d like to sell you?

The 69 Mets, By Brian James Rational Poet on FB/META and @brianrrs37 on Twitter)

“Club med for the dead”
Is what David said
Kandinski escaped
So seemed his death

But Maddie wasn’t buying it
She thought it a trick
How could a dead man
Have his chest cracked, brain weighed

And then catch a bus
But David insisted it must
It must, be the supernatural
That allowed for such

In the office the pair in a fuss
Arguing over the cause of his death
“God, there you go, everyone believes
In him” he said

But instead, of getting a response
“Oh I agree employee, I see, I see”
Stone faced, no expression
Maddie steadfastly

In shock of the lack of response
David sat up on the couch in shock
“How could you not?”
Maddie’s response

“What can I say, I don’t…..”
David promptly covered her mouth
Shushed and looked around
“Why even say that, he might hear you.”

Maddie annoyed put hands on hips
“Nobody will strike me, no one will smite me”
It was the first time for me
I’d ever seen anyone raise skepticism

Outside the show, while I did not know
What I know now, of the arguments for
I simply bought, because that’s what one did
But underneath, it made no sense

“A myth and a hoax”, an inside joke
For fans of the show, and the baseball team
But if I could, meet the writers
I’d thank them, for her questioning.
(end)

This poem is about an episode of the 1980s comedy/drama/romance private eye show “Moonlighting” which stared Bruce Willis and Cybill Sheppard. The episode is in season 2 “In God We Strongly Suspect”.

I had long since thought about god and religion “this is some weird stuff people are saying/claiming. But back then I really felt I had to believe that stuff to fit in. Then came that episode, and I was already a fan of that show. And when Maddie sat there stone faces when she didn’t agree with David that Kandinsky didn’t come back from the dead, and there was no God involved it knocked me over like a bowling pin, and that meant it was ok to question.

However, like any good plot they have to counter balance it in the end to make it passed the censors I guess, and unfortunately Maddie says at the end of the episode “Yea, I did consider it” meaning the existence of God. Still my favorite episode though.

6 Cities Of Missile Command, By Brian James Rational Poet on FB/META and @brianrrs37 on Twitter)

6 cities of Missile Command
To my right Norman Oklahoma
The home of my best friend
Center is me
To my left Plathtown
Sexton City
All the rest
I have no pity
Plus I really suck
At keeping track
Of all six.
(end)

I am sure those old enough to own an Atari 2600 or played the arcade version of Missile Command know how frustrating that game can be. But just yesterday I got the Flashback home version and was playing it. But dis anyone else name the cities they had to protect?

I got silly while playing it and my friend was watching me through Chat video and I decided to name one of the cities Norman because my friend lives there, I told him and he laughed. Then I decided to name the other cities after my two favorite poets Sylvia Plath and Anne Sexton.

Did anyone else reading this ever name their cities when playing?

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

The worse self infliction
Is that of paralysis
When thoughts escape
Of sense they don’t make
The desire to express
Expel one’s pain
Imperiled and drained
Spent in exhaustion
Love abandon’s caution
(end)

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

The stamen, the pollen
Bees no longer buzzing
Just meandering,
Lumbering

Twilight sun sagging
Moon takes over
Clouds covering
Dawn soon wont be repeating

The dance no longer danced
No Zumba, Waltz, or waves that break
The caress of the tides
No longer arise

Passion replaced by rust and flies
Apathy, acceptance only to thrive
The solace I have, that I even tried
But the bees don’t buzz in honey’s hive

The credits are rolling
And everyone is leaving
The wrappers and buckets
And soda cups empty

The memories of the bees
Have left me, theater empty
I am still here, scrolling
In print, but you don’t see me.

Poet’s Tools, By Brian37 (AKA Brian James Rational Poet on FB/META and @brianrrs37 on Twitter)

The pen, the keyboard
Like the dog who greats you
The cat who curls up next to you
Cares not of mussy hair
Or your boss’s nasty glare
Coming home in despair
Dirty cloths that you wear
They are always there.
#vss365