The Luck of the Word by Charles Bukowski





My Own Luck 

Darn!
When I look back at my life
I can hardly believe
the times of hell I endured

Highlights include
being asleep and
almost dead in high school

walking around the disgusting
and living dead
in insurance offices

many obligations
in many areas
different streets and avenues
in Goontown.

I was hit by the muse
to write this poem
after reading
'the luck of the word'
by the one and only
Hank Bu




the luck of the word


throughout the years
I have gotten letters
from men
who say
that reading my
books
has helped them
get through,
go on.

this is high praise
indeed
and I know what
they mean:
my nerve to go
on was helped
by reading
Fante, Dostoevsky,
Lawrence, Celine, Hamsun
and others.

the word
raw on the page,
the similarities of
our hells,
when it all comes
through with
special
force,
those words and
what they speak
of
do help
get our asses
through the fire

a good book
can make an almost
impossible
existence
livable

for the reader
and
the writer.

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