Charles Bukowski was a German-American poet who also wrote short stories and novels. He was continually influenced by the lives of ordinary Americans, alcohol, and the culture around him. He was often referred to as the “king of the underground” during his lifetime and his poetry collections include Maybe Tomorrow and Crucifix in a Deathhand.
‘Poetry Readings’ by Charles Bukowski is an interesting poem that critiques poetry readers and those who hold onto false hopes.
poetry readings have to be some of the saddest
damned things ever,
the gathering of the clansmen and clanladies,
week after week, month after month, year
Explore Bukowski’s raw style in ‘I Live Too Near the Slaughterhouse,’ where life’s brutal realities and fleeting moments clash.
I live too near the slaugherhouse.
What do you expect? Silver blood
like Chatterton's? The dankness of my hours
allows no practiced foresight.
‘We Ain’t Got No Money, Honey, But We Got Rain’ by Charles Bukowski vividly portrays the chaotic Depression era with unfiltered realism.
call it the greenhouse effect or whatever
but it just doesn't rain like it used to.
I particularly remember the rains of the
depression era.
Bukowski’s ‘Like A Flower In The Rain’ is a clear-cut poem describing the odd lovemaking of a couple. Bukowski does not shy away from noting their raw conversation in the text.
I cut the middle fingernail of the middle
finger
right hand
real short
‘Alone with Everybody’ by Bukowski captures the irony of feeling lonely in a crowd, seeking an elusive connection.
the flesh covers the bone
and they put a mind
in there and
sometimes a soul,
‘Bluebird’ explores hiding vulnerability, revealing a tender heart kept secret, challenging societal norms vs. personal truth.
There's a bluebird in my heart
that wants to get out
but I'm too tough for him,
I say, stay in there,
Charles Bukowski’s ‘Friendly advice to a lot of young men’ is an unforgettable poem that lays out the things the poet thinks men should and should not do in life.
Go to Tibet.
Ride a camel.
Read the Bible.
Dye your shoes blue.
‘Love & Fame & Death’ by Charles Bukowski is a short, complex poem that speaks on the power, or lack thereof, that love, fame and death have in life.
it sits outside my window now
like and old woman going to market;
it sits and watches me,
it sweats nervously
Bukowski’s ‘no help for that’ explores the endless human quest for fulfillment, revealing the eternal void that achievement can’t fill.
There is a place in the heart that
will never be filled
‘The Crunch’ is a moving poem filled with memorable descriptions of society’s lost men and women and our treatment of one another.
Too much
too little
or not enough
‘The Laughing Heart’ by Charles Bukowski encourages readers to seize and cherish positive moments, making the most of life.
Your life is your life
Don’t let it be clubbed into dank submission.
Be on the watch.
There are ways out.
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