A Bow To Bukowski

Sitting by the Fire
after Bukowski

Beer in hand I sit by the fire.

Blinding shades of green
Lightning bugs fill the yard.

My flashlight’s beam catches shadows moving, hiding from the day.

There, secrets make me weep.

Breeze.
More wood.
Fire fed.
Red flame and heat.

Rejoice.

Grace is called for,
hoped for,
proffered
and rejected.

The price too high.

Lightning bug violence guide deer across my yard
their dead eyes inspect the stains on my shirt.
Laughing they continue their journey.
Through my yard.
Through my life.
Through the yard next door.

Their contempt makes me smile--
laughter soothes the savage,
the breast
and the beast*.

Six times 6 times 6** hides in those shadows
John of Patmos*** lurks there too

So does The Christ.

Hallelujah! Hallelujah!

The wretched are blessed as they reach for another beer.

Bill Buschel
8/2/11

*A play on: Music has charms to soothe the savage breast.
**666, the number of the beast; The Antichrist
***John of Patmos, the reputed author of The Book of Revelation

____

Against the day-to-day experiences of the poor and blue collar workforce of Los Angeles, Charles Bukowski (1920-1994), described by Time magazine as the "laureate of American lowlife", wrote with sparse, but intimate grit about romance, drinking and his own creative process during his many years as a postal clerk.

If you want to check out his L.A. stomping rounds, search among his many poems, fiction, art (or read his FBI record), look no further for all your Bukowskification needs than http://bukowski.nethttp://bukowski.net. Details about a 2005 film version of his semi-autobiographical novel, Factotum, starring Matt Dillon, can be found here: http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0417658/http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0417658/.