Nothing is what it seems,
or as it feels it should be.
The world is full of
smoke & mirrors --
neither here nor there...
And yet everywhere...
& everywhen.
Illusory [Free Verse]
Reply
Tag Archives: poetry
Vagabond [Lyric]
![Photograph of a statue of a young vagabond taken at Fo Guang Shan [佛光山,] near Kaohsiung, Taiwan.](https://berniegourley.com/wp-content/uploads/2026/03/img_0378.jpg)
Each Soul contains its Vagabond
- Who yearns to travel light & free -
But they load too much baggage on,
Then tether him to a big tree.
Share on Facebook, Twitter, Email, etc.
Nameless / 无名 [Lyric Poem]
![Photograph taken in Hualien, Taiwan at the Hualien Temple and Dongjing Temple (花蓮寺東淨寺) [Buddhist.]](https://berniegourley.com/wp-content/uploads/2026/03/img_1218.jpg)
They call me Nameless,
Well-known as fameless.
My plans are aimless.
My faults are blameless.
My chess is gameless.
My disgrace, shameless?
But my glasses are framed.
My passions are inflamed.
My wild horses are tamed,
And my arrows are aimed.
All due credit is claimed,
And nothing else remains.
Share on Facebook, Twitter, Email, etc.
Winter Springs [Haiku]
an eerie fog
weaves through the trees:
Winter hot springs.
Share on Facebook, Twitter, Email, etc.
Night Sun [Haiku]
a full moon glows:
its color, pale yellow —
posing as the sun.
Share on Facebook, Twitter, Email, etc.
Where Trees End [Senryū]
where the trees end,
a colony grows in a
cancerous fashion.
Share on Facebook, Twitter, Email, etc.
Shadowlands [Haiku]
toward day's end,
the shadowlands creep
down the valley.
Share on Facebook, Twitter, Email, etc.
Trickling Creek [Haiku]
creek that trickles
through a stark winterscape —
days from riverhood.
Share on Facebook, Twitter, Email, etc.
Hidden Spring [Haiku]
branches aren't budding,
but shoots are sprouting
under dead leaves.
Share on Facebook, Twitter, Email, etc.
Condemned [Free Verse]
Condemnation placard
Stapled to the church door
With the commanding tone
Of Luther’s notice.
The Condemned has stately bones
But its skin and viscera
Are in shambles.
Sun pierces stained glass,
Bathing dirty surfaces
With bright color,
But the dust and rat shit
Remain to create a
Miasma within.
One day a wrecking ball
Will make good on the
Condemnation.
Tiger Riding for Beginners 