Swiftly sprints the slender Cheetah,
running smoothly as Velveeta.
But right now it can't rouse its feet-ah,
and slogs just like a Walmart Greet-ah.
Cheetah Speed [Lyric Poem]
Reply
Tag Archives: Lyric Poem
Meerkat Lecture [Lyric Poem]
Please allow me a conjecture:
One Meerkat stood to give lecture,
But as with me, as a pupil,
Other Meerkats lacked the scruple
To make a show of listening,
Finding the walls more interesting.
Share on Facebook, Twitter, Email, etc.
Mountain Road [Common Meter]
The mountain road is sometimes flat,
but it's not ever straight.
It winds through woods -- so deep and dark --
but where spotlights await.
Share on Facebook, Twitter, Email, etc.
Gateless [Lyric]
![Photograph of a gate at Kothi Gulistan-i-Eram [कोठी गुलिस्तान-ए-इरम] in Lucknow, Madhya Pradesh, India.](https://berniegourley.com/wp-content/uploads/2026/01/img_7619.jpg)
A Wall -- one may love or hate.
But picture one without a gate.
It is our ever-present fate
to need to see from either side.
Share on Facebook, Twitter, Email, etc.
Soul Deaf [Lyric Poem]
As I've traveled around the globe,
I've felt the music from some souls --
Those who exude, in part or whole,
a secret and sacred rhythm.
And when their tunes did call to me
I felt a yearning to be free
to dance and sing, if out of key,
yet ever so resonantly.
Who could have known that I'd go deaf.
With ear to ground, nothing was left.
It felt like a horrible theft
from all (and yet received by none.)
Share on Facebook, Twitter, Email, etc.
Ominous [Common Meter]
What lives behind that ornate door
that's carved of snakes and vines?
I see them writhe and feel a shift
in its symbols and signs.
Share on Facebook, Twitter, Email, etc.
Play Mind [Common Meter]
What is this cloud above my head
on such a sunny day?
You may think it foreshadows rain.
I think that it brings play.
Share on Facebook, Twitter, Email, etc.
Armenia [Common Meter]
I once sped through an ancient land
that blurred of gray and green.
Its pastures had been neatly grazed
by some livestock, unseen.
Its mountains rugged, under clouds
whose drift could not be seen.
It felt like a long-lost painting
or unremembered dream.
Share on Facebook, Twitter, Email, etc.
The Industrial Disease [Lyric Poem]
I heard the last gasp and wheeze
of Industry's fatal disease.
Why would we need any workers?
We don't need factories!
We'll grow it all from nanobots
in a closet where you please.
There'll be a 3-D printer, printing
printers endlessly.
You won't hear another mention
of Industrial Disease.
The question is not how or where
to make it, that'll be a breeze.
The question on economist's minds...
that strains their expertise.
Is how will slobs who have no jobs
pay for their indices?
Share on Facebook, Twitter, Email, etc.
The Deeps [Lyric Poem]
A jutting rock
splits the river,
diverging streams
never wither,
but speed around --
smoothly flowing,
still gaining speed --
never slowing,
until they reach
the deeps.
Tiger Riding for Beginners 