Posts Tagged ‘Rob Brayl Poetry’

By: Rob Brayl
For BiggerThanBeyonce.Com

I’m back in New York with this sitting on my mantle and I feel compelled to share the story behind it.

I bought this handmade piece yesterday at the Abingdon Flea Market in Abingdon, Virginia (near my hometown of Richlands, VA). The minute I saw it, I was drawn to it. It stirred something in me. As a writer, I found it poetic and layered. As a person, one who often goes against the grain of society, I related to it.

“I’m a piece of forbidden fruit,” I thought to myself and laughed. Rough around the edges, abnormal, wild and full of life. I may not fit in or ever feel like I truly belong back home, but in my forbiddenness and rebellion, I think I’ve allowed myself the freedom to create something sweet (jam!) out of my ever-so-imperfect life.

The first time I saw it, I passed it up. But I couldn’t stop thinking about it, so as we were heading for the car (after looking through the entire warehouse), I went back to grab it. And when I did, this lovely country woman (who made it; Anne Wampler of Fire Light Candles to be exact) strikes up a conversation: “I noticed you when you first walked in. How tall are you, sweetie?” I answered. She then asked where I’m from, and I replied: “I’m originally from these parts. I’m visiting family for the holidays, but I now live in New York. Believe it or not.”

She instantly lit up. She then opened up to me about her 13-year-old son, who just came out of the closet and how she worries about him constantly because he gets bullied quite a bit at school. She said he had dreams of visiting New York one day because he loves musical theatre.

I immediately knew that I was meant to meet this woman.

She asked if she could give him my info because she knew I had been in the same situation years ago. I obliged. I told her if he ever needs to talk to someone he can always reach out to me. She was thrilled.

Going back home may be like crawling into an old wound for me, but it’s a place that is forever a part of me. And I’m grateful for the people there who embrace me with open arms.

Whenever I look at this, I will think of this kid and pray that people are kind to him.

My mom always tells me: “Rob, you can’t save the world.” And man, have I learned how true that is. But if I can save just one person, if I can make their life have meaning and hope, I think that’s all that really matters.

So blessed for the people God has brought into my life over the past few months, and so excited for another year of unexpected encounters.

By: Rob Brayl
For BiggerThanBeyonce.Com

By: Rob Brayl
For BiggerThanBeyonce.Com

Dear Taylor Swift,

This might sound cheesy or a little too sweet
But I don’t give a damn
For at the risk of being judged
I simply want to say…
Thank you for believing in love

While you were busy being vulnerably you
Writing with teardrops on your guitar
Other celebrities were off selfishly “living it up”…
Thank you for not stumbling out of clubs

And for that smile you crack when you give your fans hugs
For not showing young girls they should dabble in drugs
Or that beauty is all sex and no appeal
Thanks Taylor Swift, for keeping it real

I hope this message reaches you
And that it doesn’t seem creepy…
Or uncool

The end.

With Love,
Rob Brayl

Check out Taylor Swift’s just-released video to Mine, below.

Montag, before and after 10 plastic surgery procedures

HEIDI MONTAG: TIL KNIFE DO US PART
By: Rob Brayl
For BiggerThanBeyonce.Com

She says her new album, appropriately titled Superficial, is as good as Michael Jackson’s Thriller. Her husband says she’s bigger than Beyonce. But the most ridiculous statement of all is that Montag says she’s all about inner beauty.

In the past, these delusional statements made me laugh. Knowing Heidi Montag as a reality-star joke was funny, harmless. But that was before she revealed her new plastic look. Now, I can no longer laugh. Nothing funny stared back at me as I looked at a 23-year-old girl bragging about her decision to undergo 10 plastic surgery procedures in one day, blaring from a magazine cover. I felt disgusted. And the trauma was written all over her eyes, as a lost and confused girl still remained, frozen behind the Halloween mask of Hollywood and one plastic surgeon’s chainsaw blade.

Even after my stomach had settled, one question still remained: How are young girls digesting Montag’s new found glory? They aren’t. They’re throwing it up. They’re pushing it aside. They’re not eating, not smiling, not feeling pretty because their face can actually move and their thighs have unwanted baby fat. That’s a dramatic overstatement because I know there are plenty of girls who are smart enough to realize that what Montag has done is wreckless and stupid, but the problem is that whether they realize it or not, the thought of vanity and plastic perfection seeps into their brainwaves. And as time ticks, and laugh lines appear, the cover of a magazine with a faked up Barbie wannabe makes these normal, beautiful, healthy girls question their own worth.

I feel that the only thing Montag is addicted to is fame. And it may take hitting rock bottom before she will realize that it will never make her whole. Attention is temporary, sweetheart. Magazine covers, paparazzi, and hit records on the radio will never love you back.

If you’re a girl (or guy) out there, who is considering doing something drastic like this in an attempt to feel better about yourself, think again. Besides the fact that plastic surgery can be deadly, the truth is, real beauty and real sex appeal isn’t found under a knife.

Be true to yourself because the world will always lie to your face, no matter how symmetrical.

Check out GRITS (above) and a song that will probably NEVER leave your head once you’ve pressed play. You’ve been warned. My life be like ooooohhhh ahhhhhhhhh, ohhhhhhhh ahhhhhhhh. Man, it gets you every time!

LEARN TO LOVE YOUR FLAWZ.

Check out Imperfect is the New Perfect, by up & coming singer/songwriter Caitlin Crosby, below.