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Charles Bukowski

Charles Bukowski

Goldfish

my goldfish stares with watery eyes
into the hemisphere of my sorrow;
upon the thinnest of threads
we hang together,
hang hang hang
in the hangman’s noose;
stare into his place and
he into mine...
he must have thoughts,
can you deny this?
he has eyes and hunger
and his love too
died in January; but he is
gold, really gold, and I am gray
and it is indecent to search him out,
indecent like the burning of peaches
or the rape of children,
and I turn and look elsewhere,
but I know that he is there behind me,
one gold goblet of blood,
one thing alone
hung between the reddest cloud
of purgatory
and apt. no. 303.
 
god, can it be
that we are the same?

#AmericanWriters #1993 #ThePleasuresOfTheDamned

Other works by Charles Bukowski...
the crunch

too much too little too fat too thin or nobody.
 5
Be Kind

we are always asked to understand the other person’s viewpoint no matter how out—dated
 2
Straight On Through

I am hung by a nail the sun melts my heart I am cousin to the snake
Young in New Orleans

starving there, sitting around the… and at night walking the streets f… hours, the moonlight always seemed fake to me, maybe it was,
 2
The Night I Was Going to Die

the night I was going to die I was sweating on the bed and I could hear the crickets and there was a cat fight outside and I could feel my soul dropping…
 2
those marvelous lunches

when I was in grammar school my parents were poor and in my lunch bag there was only a peanut butter sandwich.
And the Moon and the Stars and the World

Long walks at night— that’s what good for the soul: peeking into windows watching tired housewives trying to fight off
 1
I’m getting back to where I was

I used to take the back off the telephone and stuff it with ra… and when somebody knocked I wouldn’t answer and if they pers… I’d tell them in terms vulgar
soul

oh, how worried they are about my soul! I get letters the phone rings... “are you going to be all right?”
Ham on Rye: 15

My father always ran the neighborhood kids away from our house. I was told not to play with them but I walked down the street and watched them anyhow. “Hey, Heinie!” they yelled, “Why d...
Women: 90

The next day was Saturday and Debra cooked us breakfast. “Are you coming antique hunting with us today?” We ate in silence for a while, then she said, “I liked your reading at The Lance...
A Challenge to the Dark

shot in the eye shot in the brain shot in the ass shot like a flower in the dance amazing how death wins hands down
 2
Code of Ethics

Office of Postmaster—United States Post Office—January 1, 1970 The attention of all employees is directed to the Code of Ethics for postal employees as set forth in Part 742 of the Post...
the world’s greatest loser

he used to sell papers in front: Get your winners! Get rich on a d… and about the 3rd or 4th race you’d see him rolling in on his ro… with roller skates underneath.
Death of an idiot

he spoke to mice and sparrows and his hair was white at the age… his father beat him every day and… lit candles in the church. his grandmother came while the boy…
 4



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