Poetry Day

Charles Bukowski is one of my favorite poets. His poems are generally pretty straight-forward, often raw and sometimes scary. I like a lot of different poetry and can be nauseatingly fond of overly romantic stuff at times. But in a way other poetry doesn't, his speaks to me. It occasionally worries me that many of the poems that hit home hardest for me were written by a slightly mad, alcoholic lecher. Then again, of the people I like best many are slightly mad. A few drink more than they should and one or two are probably lechers, so I guess it isn't surprising!

Nobody But You

nobody can save you but
yourself.
you will be put again and again
into nearly impossible
situations.
they will attempt again and again
through subterfuge, guise and
force
to make you submit, quit and/or die quietly
inside.

nobody can save you but
yourself
and it will be easy enough to fail
so very easily
but don’t, don’t, don’t.
just watch them.
listen to them.
do you want to be like that?
a faceless, mindless, heartless
being?
do you want to experience
death before death?

nobody can save you but
yourself
and you’re worth saving.
it’s a war not easily won
but if anything is worth winning then
this is it.
think about it.
think about saving your self.

Charles Bukowski