"the laughing heart"
by Charles Bukowski
your life is your life
don’t let it be clubbed into dank submission.
be on the watch.
there are ways out.
there is a light somewhere.
it may not be much light but
it beats the darkness.
be on the watch.
the gods will offer you chances.
know them.
take them.
you can’t beat death but
you can beat death in life, sometimes.
and the more often you learn to do it,
the more light there will be.
your life is your life.
know it while you have it.
you are marvelous
the gods wait to delight
in you.
Here Bukowski writes for inspiration. It begins with a bit of a platitude. Your life is your life. The meaning here is that your life is yours only. No one else has possession of it. The next line follows from it in that you shouldn't let what is yours get clubbed into dank submission. That is, don't let the people and circumstances of life drag you down into submission. The third line is about what it takes to avoid this situation. You have to be on the watch, and if you do feel like you've been clubbed into submission you have to understand that there are ways out. The poem isn't quite motivational, but more didactic in it's purpose. It doesn't take for granted the circumstances of the reader, but assumes that life will greet the reader with oppositional forces.
The poem goes on to say that there is a light somewhere. Here the traditional oppositions of light and darkness are brought into play. Bukowski doesn't short the reader with empty promises of a plethora of light. But instead candidly states that however little it may be, it's better than living in darkness.
The poem returns to the phrase, be on the watch. Here he turns it into a watch for opportunity. Invoking nameless deities as traditional masters of fate, and generous with their opportunities to bestow light and blessings. But the reader has to acknowledge them and take these opportunities.
The narration again returns to the limitations of life, acknowledging them as a reality. You can't beat death. But you can beat death in life. What does it mean to beat death in life. It means to live a life where the inside isn't dead to the world perhaps. Or perhaps it simply means that the reader has avoided concrete death in some particular way.
Once again the narration is practical in it's remedies for getting or avoiding getting clubbed into dank submission. The more often you learn how to do it, the more light there will be in life.
The poem then reiterates the first line, your life is your life. He then applies a turn on the phrase from Polonius line in Shakespeare "Know thyself". For time immemorial poets and philosophers have urged readers to this point, and Bukowski is no different. The twist that he puts in it here is that life is finite so you'd better know yourself while you have it. He goes on to proceed in encomium to the reader, saying that they are marvelous and that the aforementioned deities who are interested in giving chances to the watchful wait to delight in the reader.
The poem goes on to say that there is a light somewhere. Here the traditional oppositions of light and darkness are brought into play. Bukowski doesn't short the reader with empty promises of a plethora of light. But instead candidly states that however little it may be, it's better than living in darkness.
The poem returns to the phrase, be on the watch. Here he turns it into a watch for opportunity. Invoking nameless deities as traditional masters of fate, and generous with their opportunities to bestow light and blessings. But the reader has to acknowledge them and take these opportunities.
The narration again returns to the limitations of life, acknowledging them as a reality. You can't beat death. But you can beat death in life. What does it mean to beat death in life. It means to live a life where the inside isn't dead to the world perhaps. Or perhaps it simply means that the reader has avoided concrete death in some particular way.
Once again the narration is practical in it's remedies for getting or avoiding getting clubbed into dank submission. The more often you learn how to do it, the more light there will be in life.
The poem then reiterates the first line, your life is your life. He then applies a turn on the phrase from Polonius line in Shakespeare "Know thyself". For time immemorial poets and philosophers have urged readers to this point, and Bukowski is no different. The twist that he puts in it here is that life is finite so you'd better know yourself while you have it. He goes on to proceed in encomium to the reader, saying that they are marvelous and that the aforementioned deities who are interested in giving chances to the watchful wait to delight in the reader.
Magnificent poem of Charles
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