Poetry is distilling raw emotions and ideas into old glass jars on a wooden shelf. Charles Bukowski was a raging alcoholic, but produced such a lucid body of work before passing. Perhaps in a world with a flawed sense of sanity, we need the in-sane. His philosophy that every sentence must pierce through to the soul is evident, he never bothered sugar coating reality as it is.
This is one of my favorites.
The Laughing Heart
your life is your life
don’t let it be clubbed into dank submission.
be on the watch.
there are ways out.
there is light somewhere.
it may not be much light but
it beats the darkness.
be on the watch.
the gods will offer you chances.
know them.
take them.
you can’t beat death but
you can beat death in life, sometimes.
and the more often you learn to do it,
the more light there will be.
your life is your life.
know it while you have it.
you are marvelous
the gods wait to delight
in you.
Other favorites by Bukowski:
All The Way (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=k6_QUhUPrF4)
Bluebird (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lyMS4qJ8NXU)
The Genius of the Crowd (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0doGM_6izYg)
sid gore 