for Charles Bukowski
He was right
about one thing:
He had to write
not because he was so good
but because the rest
were so bad -
and that was before
smartphones
that tell us
what we want to hear
all the time,
study us
like rats in a maze, plus
stimulate us
reward us
with digital kibble
for every dumb idea
in our heads
every prejudice
in our hearts
and we can't get enough
of ourselves
so we engorge
until we die, fat
stupid and twisted
as the smiles
on our faces.
3 comments:
Who are "the rest" in this poem, who are so bad? I get your critique of the smartphone culture and the insidiousness of algorithms, but what was their equivalent in Bukowski's time?
Who are "the rest" in this poem, who are so bad? I get your critique of the smartphone culture and the insidiousness of algorithms, but what was their equivalent in Bukowski's time?
(Btw I like that you, too, find poetic inspiration from reading Bukowski.)
Hi Kelp,
Actually Bukowski was responding to the question why he wrote poetry, and he answered not because he thought he was so good (ie. such a good poet) but because all the rest (the other poets he'd read) were so bad. I sort of twisted the quote in my mind so 'the rest' meant all of us, poets and non poets alike. And we seem to be getting dumber, more ignorant, less literate, by the day thanks to technology - so Bukowski was really on to something with his sad take on and general disdain for his fellow human beings.
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