Best Ray Bradbury Poems
Here, beyond the realm of air
I've given what this job remands
For everything I've e'er held dear
My closest friend, the 1st, is near
But with a glass between our hands
No proper farewell can we share.
The reaper comes for me alone
My duty done, the core repaired
Though radiation thru-and-thru
There wasn't choice, I had to do
As fate demanded and declared
The good of many o'er my own.
Now I'm grappling with this fear
For never have I faced my death
Oh, cheated it, a time-or-three
By making wagers that would be
By any standard, wasted breath
Had luck not smiled ear-to-ear.
Tell me, Spock, what is the way
To shed the terrors of demise?
Your kind is practiced of the art
Of separating mind from heart
Still, no answers swim your eyes
Just tears for all you will not say.
I thought emotion left your kind
Yet now a tear drips just for me
It must swell in your human part
The always kind-yet-distant heart
That fills and guides you, quietly
While shadowing a cunning mind.
Oh, what a soiree this has been -
As Don and Sancho, side-by-side
This Universe that billows stars
A sea of dust and suns was ours
A crew and star ship - what a ride
There will not be the likes again.
Yes, Dear Friend ...
Chances taken, rules did bend
But I have no regrets to claim
Blessing, was this daring dance
With you, across a great expanse
An honor no one else can claim
But now that trek is at an end ...
Live long and prosper, my old friend ...
Live long and prosper ...
* In honor of one of my favorite humans, Ray Bradbury, and a favorite scene from one of the Star Trek movie reboots. *
Categories:
ray bradbury, adventure, film, friendship, science
Form:
Enclosed Rhyme
Sometimes, I wake up from Sweet Death’s dull sleep,
And find, I’ve not been living as I could,
My friends tell me they tire of seeing me weep…
I feel like I’m a boy, not flesh, but wood…
My nose is growing long, they seem to think,
Although I speak, and mean just what I say,
Some tell me that my promises all stink,
Like broccoli that’s been left out all day.
Well, I’M NOT LIKE THAT! And I don’t agree!
“What seems a lie’s a Promise,” bright Ray* said,
“a need, ramshackle, waiting to be born…”
I think he’s right, and even though he’s dead
I’ll take his words, go charging up the stairs,
And make amends, and show, I’m one who Cares!
*’What seems a lie, is a promise, a ramshackle need, waiting to be born…” – Ray Bradbury
Categories:
ray bradbury, courage, faith, hope, love,
Form:
Sonnet
Green Town, Ohio
where memories congregate,
granddads as time machines,
grandmas... magicians.
Two children leaping
in Superman sneakers
as if they are flying,
and smelling the fresh cut grass.
Sparklers and firecrackers
sizzle for dominance,
lighting their path through
the warm summer night.
Holding hands, tentative,
feeling the moment,
you can't put a price
on such innocent bliss.
Jimmy and Emily
out by the old oak tree,
making new memories,
stealing a kiss.
© bickerstaffe - all rights reserved
Author Notes
'...a tribute to Ray Bradbury, born in Waukegan, Illinois Aug 22nd 1920. Green Town was the mythical version of his home town and was featured in his novel, 'Dandelion Wine.' He died June 5th, 2012. ...R.I.P
Categories:
ray bradbury, children,
Form:
Verse
She was certainly the most beautiful woman I would ever see.
Not appearing to age at all, the young lady's name was Nefertiti.
As my guide, Nef gently took me by the hand.
I saw a beautiful town where anyone else would see just sand.
There were no children in the town, but the adults did not age.
This was a place where the book of time turned no page.
The redolence of orange groves permeated the desert air.
Residents went about their daily business without a care.
I have to return to this place where nobody has to die.
This is a huge task, but it is something I have to try.
based on the novella "Now and Forever, Somewhere a Band is Playing" by the late Ray Bradbury.
Categories:
ray bradbury, adventure, fantasy,
Form:
Rhyme
1O. Shut your trap to avoid any flap
9. Do not be overly fraught by "conventional thought" (dinosaurism)
8. Know how to deal with Soylent Green People
7. Stuff your ideas and different views-tip toe on the softest of shoes
6. Paperwork and procedure (I know) one can't bumble...doing so will make ya really humble
5. That being said, just go with the herd...bite your tongue people! Don't say a word!
4. Don't think too much-like we did...that special group without computers as a kid
3. If number four applies to you, don't question the almightly computer (as I sometimes do)
2. Clever, innovative, challenging, and problematic...yes, DAMNIT!, sometimes it pays to be
erratic
1. You are not a weirdo, strange, or dumb...just follow the status-quo, and get the **** done
Ironic, yes; I am able to say this over the "net". Contradictory, sure; technology is a
menacing lure. Maybe good 'ol Ray Bradbury was right on the money, and this is all pretty
darn funny. Farenhieght 451, I think your day may come. RIP books and innovation.
Categories:
ray bradbury, addiction, career, computer, education,
Form:
Free verse
Nobody could take us on a vicarious journey
like the late science fiction writer Ray Bradbury.
He would place his readers into another time and space.
Words flowed onto the pages with style and grace.
Ray would send us on voyages to the stars.
Readers could walk on the sands of Mars.
We could see the future through a man’s tattoos.
There were numerous scenarios for us to choose.
Children were kept company by a robot grandmother.
That was a short story like no other.
Ray took us to a place where books were banned.
We would often wind up in a fascinating land.
Few have accomplished what Ray has done.
He left the living at the age of ninety-one.
His literary works will always be here to read.
Just open a book and see where it will lead.
RIP June 6, 2012
Categories:
ray bradbury, dedication, science fiction,
Form:
Rhyme
Murky water left to drink
floating particles of death
Erie presence leaves discontent
As something wicked floats in it.
The bone chilling chilly wind doth blow
off Lake Erie with flurry snow.
Late at night off cold dark shores
Shadows of a floating barge
Clouds of soot from steamers clogged
Pollutes the air with killer smog
when something wicked this way blows.
Perverts creep on angry streets
Children homeless are their prey
desperately at the mercy of
She gets plucked like a sweet ripe plumb
as something wicked this way comes.
There were no herbs, left to purge her
This was strictly death by murder
Blood dripping from their lips/
Every scary thing they fling as;
Vampires odors fumigates,
the evil deeds, their gluttony brings.
They've Desecrated the graves of men;
Though we stand by, we cannot extend,
at least a stick to beat the bush;
Or make loud noises and pretend;
While something evil this way spins.
© Vicki Acquah | Year Posted 2014
Inspired by Ray Bradbury
reposted 2017
Categories:
ray bradbury, abuse, child abuse, death,
Form:
Ballad
The neighbors gazed at the sky with the nighttime stars.
There is plenty to see while they’re living on Mars.
Since the planet is dry with a thin atmosphere,
so much can be seen because the sky is so clear.
The colony has been peaceful and serene here.
However, concerns about earth clutched them in fear.
The colonists viewed as they sat on their front porch,
their home earth shining brightly like a blue-green torch.
From one hundred million kilometers away,
nations have begun to fight each other today.
One night, they were watching as the earth burned with red.
An atomic war began with millions feared dead.
The blinking light Morse code box relayed a message.
It described a global war with massive carnage.
“Detonations obliterate Australia.
Explosions decimate Cape Town, South Africa.
London, Paris, and Los Angeles are all gone.”
This made all speculate of what was going on.
“Are my parents, brothers, and sisters still alive?
From what happened, will civilization survive?
I have not written to my brother as of late
because there’s a five dollar first class postage rate.”
The new circumstances perpetuated fright.
The luggage store in town stayed open late that night.
The decision to leave was made amongst themselves.
By the dawn, the luggage disappeared from the shelves.
Based on "The Martian Chronicles" by Ray Bradbury
Categories:
ray bradbury, science fiction, war, earth,
Form:
Narrative
Once, many years ago,
When I was a schoolgirl, a student,
I, similar to many, was afraid of war with the USA.
peals of thunder frightened me,
They were similar to the roar of guns.
I cried from fear and asked my father:
" Daddy, will it be war? The USA will throw bombs?"
But he calmed me, he spoke,
"New war with the USA will not be".
I trusted my father - he was at war in 1941 with Hitler and knew all about war.
At that time I could not even imagine
that I might have so much love of the USA in my heart.
My first love - the American literature:
Mark Twain, Jack London, Ray Bradbury.
My further American love - Samantha Smith.
The little girl from the state of Maine.
She too was afraid of war, as I sometime.
She has written to our president a letter,
And he invited her to Moscow.
All Russia loved this wonderful girl.
Now many people here still are afraid.
Many think that the USA is our enemy.
If they could know
about my wonderful American friends!
Poets and children's writers,
Simple American people.
They so are similar to Russian people.
They write verses and prose,
They fall in love and celebrate each weekend,
They are pleased and suffer - similarly to us.
At very hard time in my life
God has given me the true friends from the USA.
I so love them!
I pray for them, and I ask God
to pardon them and protect from illnesses and troubles.
I like the USA, and I suffer because of impossibility to visit there.
My dear Americans!
I wish you happiness, good health and well-being!
Today, in Day of Independence celebrated in the USA.
Categories:
ray bradbury, friendship, war, love, time,
Form:
Free verse
...inspired by 'Dandelion Wine'
by Ray Bradbury
Green Town, Ohio,
where memories congregate,
sneakers and time machines,
grandmas and goodies;
leaping tall buildings
and smelling the fresh cut grass,
junebugs and crickets compete
as the best; sparklers and firecrackers
fizzle for dominance,
lighting our path through
the warm summer nights;
holding hands, tentative,
feeling the moment,
you can't put a price
on such innocent bliss;
Jimmy and Emily
out by the old oak fence,
sharing those memories
sealed with a kiss.
Categories:
ray bradbury, childhood
Form:
Verse
They met a demise so inglorious.
The culpable agent was the Varicella virus.
We were the vectors. It was none other than us.
Chalk up another deed of man that will be infamous.
The virus spread like wisps on the breeze.
It obliterated a civilization that lasted for centuries.
Any graduate from the college of hard knocks
can see these creatures died from chicken pox.
This once great city is now a ghost town.
First contact with humans is what brought them down.
So will you conquerors strut around haughtily with disdain?
I will see that these Martians did not die in vain.
Based on the set of short stories titled “The Martian Chronicles” by the late Ray Bradbury.
Categories:
ray bradbury, science fiction, space,
Form:
Rhyme
I
don’t want
to call you
my grandmother.
You appear human,
You are just a machine,
programmed to act like nana.
Electric flows through you, not blood.
Brother and sister love you. I don’t.
Based on the short story “I Sing the Body Electric” by Ray Bradbury
Robert Pettit
Categories:
ray bradbury, science fiction
Form:
Nonet
I am so sick of a sixteen year war.
Of killing and fighting, I want no more.
So much blood has been spilled on the land.
It is time for someone to take matters in hand.
I want you to see my newly-invented machine.
It will remove guns, tanks, and bombs from the scene.
This renders all metal objects into worthless rust.
You should see my method is the most just.
Based on the short story "A Piece of Wood" by Ray Bradbury
Categories:
ray bradbury, adventure, science fiction, war,
Form:
Rhyme
...inspired by 'Dandelion Wine'
by Ray Bradbury
Green Town, Ohio,
where memories congregate,
sneakers and time machines,
grandmas and cookies;
leaping tall buildings
and smelling the fresh cut grass,
junebugs and crickets compete
as the best; sparklers and firecrackers
fizzle for dominance,
lighting our path through
the warm summer nights;
holding hands, tentative,
feeling the moment,
you can't put a price
on such innocent bliss;
Jimmy and Emily
out by the old oak fence,
sharing those memories,
stealing a kiss.
Categories:
ray bradbury, inspirational,
Form:
Verse
Tales of Tomorrow, Alfred Hitchcock Presents Science Fiction Theatre, One Step Beyond The Twilight Zone, Way Out, The Outer Limits Night Gallery, Journey To The Unknown Ghost Story- Circle of Fear, Fantasy Island Tales of the Unexpected, Mystery!, Darkroom The Hitchhiker, Tales from the Darkside, Amazing Stories The Ray Bradbury Theater, Tales from the Crypt, Monsters Among these you probably have a favorite anthology
Categories:
ray bradbury, history, imagination, irony, mystery,
Form:
Free verse