BUKOWSKI … a Crazy Life

Van Inscription:  ‘BUKOWSKI – some people never go crazy – what truly horrible lives they must lead’   ©

Henry Charles Bukowski (1920 – 1994), was a German-American poet, novelist, and short story writer.  His writing was influenced by the social, cultural, and economic ambience of his home city of Los Angeles.  His work addresses the ordinary lives of poor Americans, the act of writing, alcohol, relationships with women, and the drudgery of work. (Wikipedia)

Bukowski has become something of a cult hero.  For some, his life-style, his aphorisms, the spirit imaged in his poetry, have become a way of life.  An image of one such itinerant was caught on camera by a Canadian friend on the Pacific coast of British Columbia.  This photograph occasioned my verse below . . .

BUKOWSKI

my life I confess
in my poetry
it is the vagrant life
tale of a loafer
lowlife laureate
being a bummer
suited me
no carbon copy
king of the underground
pulp-fiction hero
I made the running
took to my heels and
ran with the wind
lusted after life
stopped on a whim
ate when the food was there
or I stood still
and hungered
took my fill of loving
the casual way
I didn’t try
kept a wandering eye
the man who got lucky
lay in wait for inspiration
caught a glimpse of Paradise
nurtured that bluebird in my heart
laughed and scorned
smoked the weed that thrills
loved the life that kills
lived it
versified it
crucified it
until it crucified me.

Charles Bukowski

The ‘Bukowski’ van parked on the seafront on Vancouver Island, B.C.   Photographs of the van are by courtesy of Canadian artist, Alma Kerr. ©