Chuck Berry Poem by John Sensele

Chuck Berry, bouncy balladeer, unique physique
Gifted guitarist who invented rock n roll
From Missouri music
Created a rare blend of guitar skills with a generational glow

Piping Johnny B Goode
Nadine, Roll Over Beethoven, Maybellene
Future direction of music food
That did define

Strumming strings with less toil
Required to re-engineer mellow music so superior
Its vivid vibes could coil
Any ears, oil years and foil fears to gear

Generations of joint geniuses from Rolling Stones
Bruce Springsteen, the Beatles
In an unprecedented panorama of numerous cohorts of clones
That defied descriptions and titles

To the extent his surprise demise at the age of ninety
Has grabbed from the global music scene
An idiosyncractic icon to whom plenty
The world owes so much clean

Inspiration, innovation and intuition
From nineteen twenty six
When Chuck Berry's mission
Emerged from the Missouri clicks and bricks

To burst upon the world like a hurricane
That changed the music direction of the time
To a rising Rock n Roll lane
As jingles of the genre gelled and commenced their concerted climb.