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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.

“I Sing the Body Electric” [1 of 9] by Walt Whitman [w/ Audio]

I sing the body electric,
The armies of those I love engirth me
and I engirth them,
They will not let me off till I go with them,
respond to them,
And discorrupt them, and charge them full
with the charge of the soul.

Was it doubted that those who corrupt
their own bodies conceal themselves?
And if those who defile the living are as bad
as they who defile the dead?
And if the body does not do fully
as much as the soul?
And if the body were not the soul,
what is the soul?

Starling [Haiku]

a starling stomps,
like a masked bandit,
across dusty earth.

DAILY PHOTO: Views from Windmill Viewpoint, Naiharn

“The Emperor of Ice-Cream” by Wallace Stevens [w/ Audio]

Call the roller of big cigars,
The muscular one, and bid him whip
In kitchen cups concupiscent curds.
Let the wenches dawdle in such dress
As they are used to wear, and let the boys
Bring flowers in last month's newspapers.
Let be be finale of seem.
The only emperor is the emperor of ice-cream.

Take from the dresser of deal,
Lacking the three glass knobs, that sheet
On which she embroidered fantails once
And spread it so as to cover her face.
If her horny feet protruded, they come
To show how cold she is, and dumb.
Let the lamp affix its beam.
The only emperor is the emperor of ice-cream.

PROMPT: Ideal Week

Daily writing prompt
Describe your ideal week.

The first week of October.

DAILY PHOTO: Chicago River from North Wabash Bridge

The Lily [Haiku]

a single lily 
stands out in a pond of pads:
bright to browned.

Asunder [Haiku]

sprawling tree, 
laid asunder by its own weight:
a crack plus time

“There’s a certain Slant of light” (320) by Emily Dickinson [w/ Audio]

There's a certain slant of light,
Winter Afternoons --
That oppresses, like the Heft
Of Cathedral Tunes --

Heavenly Hurt, it gives us --
We can find no scar,
But internal difference --
Where the Meanings, are --

Non may teach it -- Any --
'Tis the seal Despair --
An imperial affliction
Sent us of the Air --

When it comes, the Landscape listens --
Shadows -- hold their breath --
When it goes, 'tis like the Distance
On the look of Death --

PROMPT: Athletes

Daily writing prompt
Name the professional athletes you respect the most and why.

I generally leave admiration for professional athletes to others, as I feel — like other entertainment celebrities — they get an unhealthy level of adoration as it is.

That said, I have been impressed by grappler Mikey Musumeci for the intensity of his training regime and for finding his own way.