Posts tagged ‘bukowski’

The People by Charles Bukowski

all people start to
 come apart finally
 and there it is:
 just empty ashtrays in a room
 or wisps of hair on a comb
 in the dissolving moonlight.

it is all ash and dry leaves
 and grief gone
 like an ocean liner.

when the shoes fill with blood
 you know
 that the shoes are dead.

true revolution
 comes from true revulsion;
 when things get bad enough
 the kitten will kill the lion.

the statues in the church of my childhood
 and the candles that burn at their feet
 if I could only take these
 and open their eyes
 and feel their legs
 and hear their clay mouths
 say the true
 clay
 words.

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English, Literature

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Cause and Effect by Charles Bukowski

the best often die by their own hand
just to get away,
and those left behind
can never quite understand
why anybody
would ever want to
get away
from
them

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English, Literature

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Don’t Forget By Charles Bukowski

There is always somebody or something
waiting for you,
something stronger, more intelligent,
more evil, more kind, more durable,
something bigger, something better,
something worse, something with
eyes like the tiger, jaws like the shark,
something crazier than crazy,
saner than sane,
there is always something or somebody
waiting for you
as you put on your shoes
or as you sleep
or as you empty a garbage can
or pet your cat
or brush your teeth
or celebrate a holiday
there is always somebody or something
waiting for you.

keep this fully in mind
so that when it happens
you will be as ready as possible.

meanwhile, a good day to
you
if you are still there.
I think that I am—
I just burnt my fingers on
this
cigarette.

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English, Literature

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Roll The Dice By Charles Bukowski

If you’re going to try, go all the
way.
Otherwise, don’t even start.

If you’re going to try, go all the
way.
This could mean losing girlfriends,
wives, relatives, jobs and
maybe your mind.

Go all the way.
It could mean not eating for 3 or 4 days.
It could mean freezing on a
park bench.
It could mean jail,
it could mean derision,
mockery,
isolation.
Isolation is the gift,
all the others are a test of your
endurance, of
how much you really want to
do it.
And you’ll do it
despite rejection and the worst odds
and it will be better than
anything else
you can imagine.

If you’re going to try,
go all the way.
There is no other feeling like
that.
You will be alone with the gods
and the nights will flame with
fire.

Do it, do it, do it.
Do it.

All the way
All the way.

You will ride life straight to
perfect laughter, its
the only good fight
there is.

Category:

English, Literature

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