Tiger Riding for Beginners

Traveling Poet Philosopher & Occasional Wiseacre

even a stream
 charges a toll, and
  thwarts cheaters.
 step on stone: slip & fall;
 sink calf deep: you may pass.

a brave youth
 plummets into the stepwell,
 all the while
 looking like she's on a stroll,
 blowing her nose and waving.

bougainvilleas
 beside the grand temple steps
 have dropped petals,
 but it seems the gardners
 never let them hit the ground.

in a city park,
 muscular baobabs & 
  wiry strangler figs
 provide residences
 for the fierce squirrels.

cat on a porch rail
 preens between naps
 to look good
 for the twenty waking 
 minutes of its day.

in the morning,
 a fresh blanket of snow
  makes the world look new.
 by day's end, it's well-trodden:
  a car driven off the lot.

the old church stands:
 proud, tall, and hollowed.
  when it’s rebuilt, 
 will it be another church?
  or will it be a shopping mall?

Posted on August 8, 2023 by B Gourley

the curious child 
 remains unbaffled by the
  complexities
 of snail amore:
 thinking the lead a tow-snail.

Posted on August 4, 2023 by B Gourley

towering temples
 poke clear of the canopy:
  to be seen
 by god above, or not to
 be seen by people below?

Posted on March 16, 2023 by B Gourley

morning offering
 with a melon wedge;
  a bas-relief face
 seems to have bitten a chunk,
  and is prepared to spit seeds.