Some books are painful
their pages weigh a 1000 pounds
and they are impossible to lift
unable to be opened
and some books are never in stock
because readers look forward to them
they check them out from the library
when nobody is watching
steal them from bookstores
buy them
re-buy them
read each page slowly
wishing
there was more.
There are good writers
but if nobody wants to read them, forget about it.
There are good friends
that you find
in the strangest places
at the most inopportune times
They tell you
everything there is to know
in a new way.
The best things in life
are that way
an unexpected career
an unexpected gift
an unexpected girlfriend
an unexpected twist of fate
There is a sense of humor out there
that laughs at our struggle
and rewards the gambler.
A good book is the one
you could be reading
during your last days—
even more blessed
you would be
to write something
worthy of being read
before you die in your bed.
Wanting to do that
when there is nothing left
must be done from pure motives
or madness.
Those are the kind of writers I like to read
Even if it’s crazy,
it’s something that’s never been said.
Don’t tell me about idle gossip
or the 1000 conversations I’ve heard in the hallways
and forgotten.
Tell me something
that no longer makes me feel alone
that gives voice to my pain
and solutions hidden
in the subtext—an unusual way to deal with a dangerous thing
and I will be a loyal reader for life.
The most valuable gold
belongs to fools
Nobody else, sees its value
It’s purely subjective, like faith
but it gives you
that feeling of hope
when there should be none.
Open a book like that
and the writer has done
what the culture has failed to do.
It isn’t the stories that matter
but the feeling, afterward…
the opposite of a modern-day Hollywood movie
I think the soul of the creator
speaks to how we feel
when we finish.
If we feel empty, like we wasted our time
like we ate candy
we have been inside the soul
of somebody
who rots.
If we feel
a fresh way
to slay our dragons, in the dungeons of our sleep
it was worthwhile to read
and to watch.
A writer must deal with uncertainty, criticism, and rejection—
even success, can kill him,
but if he is oriented in the right way
by the therapists he found along the way
in some books
nothing can stop him.
The truth is this…
the voices that you listen to
will be responsible
for the results you get.
Bukowski, you are my beloved therapist.
“Tell me something
that no longer makes me feel alone
that gives voice to my pain
and solutions hidden
in the subtext—an unusual way to deal with a dangerous thing . . .”
Love this line. Yes!
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Rosemary, thank you for letting me know that my words mean something to you. Your comment means a great deal to me!!! 🙂
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