Author Archives: B Gourley

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About B Gourley

Bernie Gourley is a writer living in Bangalore, India. His poetry collection, Poems of the Introverted Yogi is now available on Amazon. He teaches yoga, with a specialization in pranayama, and holds a RYT500 certification. For most of his adult life, he practiced martial arts, including: Kobudo, Muay Thai, Kalaripayattu, and Taiji. He is a world traveler, having visited more than 40 countries around the globe.

White Tiger [Lyric Poem]

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Photograph of a white tiger taken in Mysore Zoo in Karnataka, India.
The White Tiger is very cute,
   napping in its white tiger suit.
 But while awake, is hard to take:
   Is it nonconformist, or fake?

PROMPT: Invention

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Daily writing prompt
The most important invention in your lifetime is…
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Velcro and Sticky Notes! We knew how to fasten things, but before then we couldn’t fasten things in a half-assed fashion. As Laozi says in the Daodejing [Ch. 40,] “Returning is the movement of Tao; yielding is the way of Tao.” So, to be able to stick and unstick at will is the highest virtue under heaven.

[NOTE: Technically, research indicates both inventions predate me, but I don’t believe ether became popular for household consumer use until my lifetime.]

Cheeky Crawler [Free Verse]

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Photograph of a bug on a Fleabane wildflower on Namsan, south of Gyeongju, South Korea.
Does the bug
   atop a wildflower
 think itself master
   of all it surveys?

Apricot Cloud [Haiku]

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Photograph taken in the Samse Tea Estate in Karnataka, India. 
apricot tinge
 on a distant cloud
   tells of day's end.

DAILY PHOTO: Beomeosa Temple Drum Tower

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At photograph with a hill in the left background and a drum tower in the right foreground. Taken at Beomeosa Temple outside Busan, South Korea.

Gaur [Lyric Poem]

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Photograph of a Gaur taken at the Mysore Zoo in Karnataka, India. 
Let me introduce the Gaur.
   It's a cow, but superpowered.

It's made of thick slabs of muscle,
   And I wouldn't suggest you tussle.
 They aren't cattle you can rustle,
   That is, unless - in point of fact --
 You're eager to be rustled back.

PROMPT: Ideal Day

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Daily writing prompt
Describe your most ideal day from beginning to end.
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I wake up. I don’t die. I go to sleep.

Gods & Monsters [Free Verse]

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Photograph of an ornately carved stone block on Doddagaddavalli Lakshmi Devi Temple in Karnataka, India.
the lion wind blows.

all about is rippling chaos,
 but for the goddess
   who dances in the 
 furious center,
    pausing on one foot
 as the dust swirls
    in angry spasms.

Smash Fist [Senryū]

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Photograph of Netravati Peak in Karnataka, India.
where hill meets clouds: 
 knuckles of a Hulk-like fist 
  spark a daydream.

DAILY PHOTO: Three Views of Mysore Palace

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Photograph of Mysore Palace with flower garden in Karnataka, India from the northeast corner.
Photograph: Front-facing view of Mysore Palace in Karnataka, India.
Photograph: Mysore Palace from the southeast corner.