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.

PROMPT: Three Books

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List three books that have had an impact on you. Why?

Steven Kotler’s The Rise of Superman changed the way I looked at mind-body development.

Water Margin [a.k.a. Outlaws of the Marsh] convinced me a sprawling epic could be worth reading if it was done well, it kicked my love of Chinese Literature into high gear, and it started me on the path of learning Chinese.

Self-Reliance and Other Essays by Ralph Waldo Emerson had a major influence on my early philosophical development — especially the titular essay.

Now, I’m thinking I should’ve pushed one of these out for Leaves of Grass by Walt Whitman, but perhaps another time.

Spring’s Story [Haiku]

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unfurled buds,
 not drooped to gravity,
  tell Spring’s story.

Green Door [Free Verse]

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What mysteries lie behind
  That old green wooden door:
    Carved elaborately 
     In bygone days?
 
On a street that features only sights
   Both newer and more decrepit,
   It stands out as a grand entrance 
     That begs something special 
      Beyond.

I’d hate to think it’s just 
   Old paint cans —
     Half empty and congealed 
      Beyond usefulness.

I doubt it’s a brothel or speakeasy —
         Too silent…
   But a vault of lost masterpieces,
     Inhabited by a hairy-legged spider,
     Might not be too much to ask.

Little Dragon [Lyric Poem]

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Ancient temple carved with features:
 Beasts, men, gods and mythic creatures.
 Imagine my surprise when I 
 Came face-to-face with this lil’ guy.

The lizard did his level best
 To stay stock still with puffed-out chest.
 To pass for a chiseled dragon,
 But couldn’t keep its tail from waggin’.

DAILY PHOTO: Belur Gopura [Chennakeshava Temple]

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“The Death of a Soldier” by Wallace Stevens [w/ Audio]

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Life contracts and death is expected,
As in a season of autumn.
The soldier falls.
 
He does not become a three-days personage,
Imposing his separation,
Calling for pomp.
 
Death is absolute and without memorial,
As in a season of autumn,
When the wind stops,
 
When the wind stops and, over the heavens,
The clouds go, nevertheless,
In their direction.

World Lung [Haiku]

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trunk splits to branches
 that stretch to the edge
  of oxygen’s crossing.

DAILY PHOTO: UVCE [UNIVERSITY OF VISVESVARAYA COLLEGE OF ENGINEERING]

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“The Soul has Bandaged moments” (360) by Emily Dickinson [w/ Audio]

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The Soul has Bandaged moments -
   When too appalled to stir -
 She feels some ghastly Fright come up
   And stop to look at her -

Salute her, with long fingers -
   Caress her freezing hair -
 Sip, Goblin, from the very lips
   The Lover - hovered - o'er -
 Unworthy, that a thought so mean
   Accost a Theme - so - fair -

The soul has moments of escape -
   When bursting all the doors -
 She dances like a Bomb, abroad,
   And swings opon the Hours,

As do the Bee - delirious borne -
   Long Dungeoned from his Rose -
 Touch Liberty - then know no more -
   But Noon, and Paradise

The Soul's retaken moments -
   When, Felon led along,
 With shackles on the plumed feet,
   And staples, in the song,

The Horror welcomes her, again,
 These, are not brayed of Tongue -

PROMPT: One Simple Thing

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Daily writing prompt
Describe one simple thing you do that brings joy to your life.
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A walk in the park. Most things in life are no walk in the park, but you can’t say that about a walk in the park.

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