A Beetle that was built like a tank
Crawled over a blazing riverbank
Now as any sane one would think
It should head straight for the drink
To cool off its little ole toes.
But as astute readers will know,
It hasn't really got any toes,
So, it can walk hot sands real slow.
fly in Summer,
buzzes around a cow --
dodging whip-tail.
Does the bug
atop a wildflower
think itself master
of all it surveys?
Fried crickets.
climbing grasshopper
clings to gently bouncing branch;
sure to fall
before the next crunchy leaf
succumbs to Autumn breezes.
massive hives
hang from high branches;
no bees in sight.
![Great Mormon Butterfly [Papilio Memnon]](https://berniegourley.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/09/img_0372.jpg)
Great Mormon
flaps its wings spastically,
yet hovers in place.
brown moth blends against bare earth,
'til footfall tremor sends it lurching.
carpenter bee
crawls into clock vine bloom;
freefalls into flight.
butterfly lands
on flower, pumps wings twice,
and sputters off.
Tiger Riding for Beginners 