Back To Bukowski

When Bernie Sanders suspends 

his presidential campaign 

when John Prine dies 

when the orange madman in the White House 

hosts daily 

self-fellatio sessions 

live on American television 

When the caronavirus murders capitalism 

When the world disappears around you 

and you’re alone in your underwear 

playing video games at 1am 

Ya gotta get back to Bukowski 

back to the tigers that find you 

back to bluebirds that only sing at night 

back to the typewriter that types 

and the radio that has guts 

back to cold, one-quart beer bottles 

and chain-smoking cigarettes 

back to Bukowski 

where it first made sense 

you remember when you first read the gospel 

a poetry collection at the community college library 

you were trying to write poetry 

but didn’t know how to be a poet 

You read that book of poems in one evening

read it again 

went back to the community college library 

checked out the other 4 books they had 

read Ham on Rye in one afternoon 

read a book of poetry that night 

stayed up all night 

and read another 

You remember no one knew you were a poet 

except a handful of broken lovers 

until you showed some poems to Austin 

and he said you reminded him of Buk

Austin was the only human you’d ever met 

that knew Bukowski 

you were 28 then 

and broken, too 

You remember meeting a poet at work 

your last day on the second shift 

back when you were still hanging tires 

on Jeep Cherokees 

You remember meeting Adrian 

He was the first person

besides yourself 

that worked in a factory and was also a poet 

that you’d ever met 

You were 34 then 

and evolving 

You remember the gospel never dies 

Yeah, man 

when the world finally goes mad 

and starts to eat itself 

Ya gotta get back to Bukowski 

©️Dan Denton - Toledo, Ohio