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words for you
red dogs in green hell, what is this
divided thing I call
myself?
what message is this I'm offering here?
it's so easy to slide into
poetic pretension
almost all art is shot through with
poetic pretension:
painting
sculpting
the stage
music
what is this foolish
strutting and posturing
we do?
why do we embroider everything we say
with special emphasis
when all we really need to do
is simply say what
needs to be said?
of course
the fact is
that there is very little that needs
to be said
so we dress up our
little artful musings
and clamor for attention
so that we may appear to be
a bit more
important
or even more
truthful
than the others.
what is this I'm writing
here?
what is this I'm reading here?
is it no worse than the rest?
probably even a little bit
better?
CHARLES BUKOWSKI
dedicated to Richard and BjP
divided thing I call
myself?
what message is this I'm offering here?
it's so easy to slide into
poetic pretension
almost all art is shot through with
poetic pretension:
painting
sculpting
the stage
music
what is this foolish
strutting and posturing
we do?
why do we embroider everything we say
with special emphasis
when all we really need to do
is simply say what
needs to be said?
of course
the fact is
that there is very little that needs
to be said
so we dress up our
little artful musings
and clamor for attention
so that we may appear to be
a bit more
important
or even more
truthful
than the others.
what is this I'm writing
here?
what is this I'm reading here?
is it no worse than the rest?
probably even a little bit
better?
CHARLES BUKOWSKI
dedicated to Richard and BjP