bukowski said,,
he had a bluebird
in his heart….
he said,
he tried
to drown it
in cheap whiskey-
to smother it
in the smoke,
of a myriad
of hand rolled
cigarettes.. yet,
in the end,
he told us,
he knew,
that it was there.
and he knew-
it was a bluebird…
still i wonder,
just how deep
he had to sink
into the quagmire
of his own
scarred psyche-
how many nights
he had to lay awake
staring into
the cold, black,
eyes of self-
before he heard
that single blessed note…
before it broke thru.
before it rose above
the mire of
life’s melancholy
melody…and when it did-
when at last,
it broke thru,
his delusion distilled,
and for the first time
he held it close
late at night
in the dark
when no one else
was around-
was it then
that he realized
it was never
really a bluebird
that he was trying
to drown
in cheap whiskey
or to smother
in the fog
of yet another
hand rolled cigarette?
was it then
that he realized
it was never
really a bluebird
that he desired
to hold ever so tightly
to himself
as he drifted
off to sleep
listening to
the bittersweet song
that only he
could hear
alone, in the dark
when no one else
could see?
and if it was then,
did he weep?
i for one
believe he did….
Posted in response to Chelsea Ann Owens Terrible Poetry Contest call for bastardized poetry. (Well, that’s not exactly what she called it….) Mine is not a parody, but rather a response.
If you have never heard the poem, I highly suggest you allow Bukowski himself to speak it to you. It will be worth it. Even if you think you don’t like poetry.
I think I love you for that.
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Wow! Thank you for being a pushover for Bukowsi! Welcome to this little window to my world…
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I think he wept. Bukowski is one of my favorite writers/poets and “Bluebird” – both sad and a little scary – is an amazing poem. Your response to him is excellent. And I think he’d heard the bluebird his entire life and it just changed its tone through the years.
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Thank you so much for your well thought out words, Michael. I am loving finding out that others love this piece as much as I do.
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He was pretty amazing and I wonder if he knew how much folks liked and appreciated him today if he’d care. From “Factotum” is this line that might be my favorite analogy of all time: “Carmen was wearing a very tight knitted dress that fit her like a balloon fits the trapped air.”
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Oh, to get inside his mind.. For even a day… Thank you for sharing that line here. It is exquisite…
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One of my favourite poets as well as John Cooper Clark
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Yes! Punk Poetry! Thanks for dropping that name here! And for stopping by to comment, Pas.
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You’re welcome. Punks not dead 😁
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Uhm, I thought it was a terrible poetry contest. This was not terrible, not even close to terrible. It was a great response to the poem. I think I read the original poem before, but it was far better listening to him read it. It made a much deeper impact – yeah, listening to it is enough to make a grown man weep….
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I have a hard time with terrible. I hardly believe anything I could do to this poem could make it fit the terrible bill. And you’re right, hearing him speak this is.. is.. there just aren’t words…
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That is so creatively combined: the video, and the poem remade by you. I am inpressed.
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Thank you, Crispina. I wasn’t very adherent to the prompt, but some things just need to be said.
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And you said them.
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I hadn’t come across Bukowski before. I’m sure I should have. It’s so good to listen to work like that being spoken out loud, as it should be. I always read poetry and lyrical work out loud. It makes such a difference. I really liked your tribute piece too, which I read loudly to myself (the cat was out).
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Nothing quite like hearing a poet read their own work. Especially when it is as deeply personal as this piece. Thanks for stopping in to comment, Chris.
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A legend. Thank you for remember Bukowski. One of my favorite.
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Mine too.. A poet for even those who choose not to enjoy poetry.. Welcome to this, my little corner of the world.
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Reblogged this on johncoyote and commented:
Read the work of a talented writer.
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It was a tough call, but you did Bukouski’s amazing poem justice. I’m not well-read on American poets – probably because my mother didn’t have access to them, and she was my greatest influence – but I’m learning.
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Bukowski is what we would call a beat poet. Societal drop out poets from the sixties. If your not familiar check out the genere, alot of it is expository and I love that!
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I’ll take a look. I don’t know why I reacted the way I did – it’s not as if I didn’t like his poem. It just brought up something uncomfortable.
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AHA! This is my favorite by you thus far. To deconstruct Bukowski (who can be so frustrating to read at times) with such humanity is an exemplary task — you emulated the tone and the flow so very well, with a certain personal tangent. I love it, Violet!
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Anmol, my poet god friend! Thank you so much for your kind words. I will admit i love this one too..
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I’ve just realised that my oddly sarcastic comment could easily be misconstrued. He reminded me of an arrogant British poet I don’t like, and it might have seemed as if I was dropping all American poets into the same category.I’m not; there’s a plethora of excellent American poets.
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Not at all Jane. Feel free to express yourself here. I lead a very unsensored life.
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Almost too beautiful to be terrible; so many did a fantastic parody this week and you are no exception.
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What a week!! Chelsea I think we might have to change the name to Used to be Called Terrible Poetry Contest
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I know! I thought to fail everyone, but felt too impressed to propose such a scandalous notion.
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my eyes are not worthy of reading this. thank you. Buk is my favorite writer of all time. back in the day before all regulations, my uncle would send me in to buy cigarettes from the Pink Elephant on Western Ave in East Hollywood. I had no idea that in a few years after that i would be an admirer of his work.
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Now that us a charmed memory to have! Thank you so much for the share
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Reblogged this on words less spoken and commented:
i’m in love with this, enjoy everyone. Thanks Violet.
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like a minute by minute account of an unravelled mind, this one is priceless Violet, you delved into his mind and his soul
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And he into mine, when he wrote the Bluebird.
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This is beautiful! No words.
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If this is “bastardized poetry”, give me more 🙂
I’ve heard the name often but never followed up. Thanks for the intro to Charles Bukowski.
P.S. Realized this evening… I have to get out more, lol.
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