6.6.08

poem by Chinasky

what can we do?

at their best, there is gentleness in Humanity.
some understanding and, at time, acts of
courage
but all in all it is a mass, a glob that doesn’t
have too much.
it is like a large animal deep in sleep and
and almost nothing can awaken it.
when activated it’s best at brutality,
selfishness, unjust judgements, and murder.

what can we do with it, this Humanity?

nothing.

avoid the thing as much as possible.
treat it as you would anything poisonous, vicious
and mindless.
but be careful. It has enacted laws to protect
itself from you.
it can kill you without cause.
and to escape it you must be subtle.
few escape

it’s up to you to figure a plan.

I have met nobody who has escaped.

I have met some of the great and
famous but they have not escaped
for they are only great and famous within
Humanity.

I have not escaped
but I have not failed in trying again and
again.

but before my death I hope to obtain my
life.

3 comments:

Gaz said...

Love that guy's work! Good read for a Friday in June that barely kissed 50 degrees, in fact the second Friday in a row to do so..... the horror!

Summer will probably slip by unnoticed this year.

Looking for an escape......

Foul Pete said...

xzkjjocaI've been making my way through Bukowski's posthumous collections: Here's a good one for this June:

feet to the fire

June, late night, common pain like a rat trapped in
The gut, hw brave we are to continue walking through this terrible flame
as
the sun stuns us
as a dark flood envelops us as
we go on our way-
filing the gas tank, flushing toilets, paying bills-as we
float in our pain
kick our feet
wiggle our toes
while listening to inept melodies
that float in the air
as the agony now eats the soul.
yes, I think we’re admirable and brave but we should have
quit
long ago, don’tcha
think?

Yet
Here we sit
uncorking a new bottle and listening to
Shostakovitch
We’ve died so may times now that we can only wonder why we still
Care.

so
I pour this drink for
all of us

and
pour another
for
myself.

Gazelle said...

good shit, ras - those last couple lines are like a great, true, and beautiful mantra for us all.