Top 100 or so Poems -- POEM OF THE DAY -- "Bluebird" by Charles Bukowski

11/15/2011 -- Bluebird certainly qualifies for our top 100 list. There may be other Bukowski poems to be considered - but Bluebird shakes out as an American classic.

Ahhhh...Bluebird by Bukowski. This is the first Charles Bukowski poem that I ever read...and one of the ones I remember the most (besides the Firehouse and Whore ones). Makes me feel melancholy.

But I don't cry.

Do you?


Bluebird

by Charles Bukowski


there's a bluebird in my heart that
wants to get out
but I'm too tough for him,
I say, stay in there, I'm not going
to let anybody see
you.

there's a bluebird in my heart that
wants to get out
but I pur whiskey on him and inhale
cigarette smoke
and the whores and the bartenders
and the grocery clerks
never know that
he's
in there.

there's a bluebird in my heart that
wants to get out
but I'm too tough for him,
I say,
stay down, do you want to mess
me up?
you want to screw up the
works?
you want to blow my book sales in
Europe?
there's a bluebird in my heart that
wants to get out
but I'm too clever, I only let him out
at night sometimes
when everybody's asleep.
I say, I know that you're there,
so don't be
sad.
then I put him back,
but he's singing a little
in there, I haven't quite let him
die
and we sleep together like
that
with our
secret pact
and it's nice enough to
make a man
weep, but I don't
weep, do
you?

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