I went to the worst of bars
hoping to get
killed.
but all I could do was to
get drunk
again.
worse, the bar patrons even
ended up
liking me.
there I was trying to get
pushed over the dark
edge
and I ended up with
free drinks
while somewhere else
some poor
son-of-a-bitch was in a hospital
bed,
tubes sticking out all over
him
as he fought like hell
to live.
nobody would help me
die as
the drinks kept
coming,
as the next day
waited for me
with its steel clamps,
its stinking
anonymity,
its incogitant
attitude.
death doesn’t always
come running
when you call
it,
not even if you
call it
from a shining
castle
or from an ocean liner
or from the best bar
on earth (or the worst).
such impertinence
only makes the gods
hesitate and
delay.
ask me: I’m
72.
I've wanted to read more Bukowski. Is there a good way going about reading his poems?
Good question. Bukowski, unlike most poets, didn't actually select poems for his published books himself. He sent everything he wrote to his publisher and his publisher threw them into volumes. As a result, the poetry collections are much less cohesive than an average book of poetry. The collections also don't exhibit continuity through a given volume (i.e., each poem generally stands alone and is meant to be read as such). Because of this I don't really think that reading any given book would be too different from just looking up poems on the web and reading them at your leisure, if you wanted to go the cheap-and-easy way. - fwiw - I believe I read the bit about the editor in an article about Bukowski, but don't see it mentioned on Wiki so like, 20% chance I'm making it up/confused. Beyond that, I personally feel that his earlier work is better, so I would recommend earlier books over later books as a general rule of thumb. "Burning in Water, Drowning in Flame" is very well known. My first introduction to his books was "You Get So Alone At Times That It Just Makes Sense." If you live near northern Delaware, the university library has some really cool Bukowski items. I remember they have something like a small chapbook that he put out - I think it's mimeographed or something - but it's really cool, because it's much more personal and rare than a published book. You get a different look. He also wrote prose but I haven't tried that.
Great stuff. One of my favorites. How'd you come across this?
Wow that is really awesome. How did you get that?
Whoops! Didn't mean to suggest anything here, I don't own a signed copy - just one of the top google image results - I thought it was cool too! Sorry for the confusion!
That's so cool. Girlfriend introduced me to his work a couple months ago. Started with Ham on Rye and never looked back. Kinda kicking myself for not reading him earlier in life. I've got a lot of catching up to do.