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THROWING AWAY THE ALARM CLOCK
by Charles Bukowski

my father always said, “early to bed and
early to rise makes a man healthy, wealthy
and wise.”

it was lights out at 8 p.m. in our house
and we were up at dawn to the smell of
coffee, frying bacon and scrambled
eggs.

my father followed this general routine
for a lifetime and died young, broke,
and, I think, not too
wise.

taking note, I rejected his advice and it
became, for me, late to bed and late
to rise.

now, I’m not saying that I’ve conquered
the world but I’ve avoided
numberless early traffic jams, bypassed some
common pitfalls
and have met some strange, wonderful
people

one of whom
was
myself—someone my father
never
knew.

SOURCE: “Throwing Away the Alarm Clock” appears in Charles Bukowski’s collection The Flash of Lighting Behind the Mountain (Ecco, 2005), available at Amazon.com.

ILLUSTRATION:  “Bukowski” by ramosecco. Prints available at redbubble.com.