the luck of the word, poem by Charles Bukowski

THE LUCK OF THE WORD (Excerpt)
by Charles Bukowski

throughout the years
I have gotten letters
from men
who say
that reading my
books 
has helped them
get through,
go on.
this is high praise 
indeed
and I know what
they mean;
my nerve to go 
on was helped
by reading
Fante, Dostoevsky,
Lawrence, Celine, Hamsun
and others…
a good book
can make an almost
impossible
existence,
livable
for the reader
and
the writer.

SOURCE: “The Luck of the Word” appears in Charles Bukowski’s collection Betting on the Muse: Poems & Stories, available at Amazon.com.

Illustration: “Mr. Chinaski as seen by The Art Warriors” (theartwarriors.com) ALL RIGHTS RESERVED — featured in the Silver Birch Press Bukowski Anthology.

At Twenty-Eight, poem by Amy Fleury

AT TWENTY-EIGHT
by Amy Fleury

It seems I get by on more luck than sense,
not the kind brought on by knuckle to wood,
breath on dice, or pennies found in the mud.
I shimmy and slip by on pure fool chance.
At turns charmed and cursed, a girl knows romance
as coffee, red wine, and books; solitude
she counts as daylight virtue and muted
evenings, the inventory of absence.
But this is no sorry spinster story,
just the way days string together a life.
Sometimes I eat soup right out of the pan.
Sometimes I don’t care if I will marry.
I dance in my kitchen on Friday nights,
singing like only a lucky girl can.

SOURCE: “At Twenty-Eight” appears in Amy Fleury’s collection Beautiful Trouble (Southern Illinois University Press, 2004), available at Amazon.com.

IMAGE: “Dance to Meet the Morning” by Gun Legler. Prints available at fineartamerica.com.

ABOUT THE AUTHOR: Amy Fleury is the author of Sympathetic Magic (Southern Illinois University Press, 2013). Her poetry has been published in former U.S. Poet Laureate Ted Kooser’s column, “American Life in Poetry.”

 

11/7 Musings: Hemingway and Luck

“For a long time now I have tried simply to write the best I can. Sometimes I have good luck and write better than I can.” ERNEST HEMINGWAY

Cartoon: Harley L. Schwadron, ALL RIGHTS RESERVED

The Luck of the Word, poem by Charles Bukowski

THE LUCK OF THE WORD (Excerpt)
Poem by Charles Bukowski

throughout the years
I have gotten letters
from men
who say
that reading my
books 
has helped them
get through,
go on.
this is high praise 
indeed
and I know what
they mean;
my nerve to go 
on was helped
by reading
Fante, Dostoevsky,
Lawrence, Celine, Hamsun
and others…
a good book
can make an almost
impossible
existence,
livable
for the reader
and
the writer.

***
“The Luck of the Word” appears in Charles Bukowski’s collection Betting on the Muse: Poems & Stories.

Illustration: “Mr. Chinaski as seen by The Art Warriors” (theartwarriors.com) ALL RIGHTS RESERVED — featured in the Silver Birch Press Bukowski Anthology (2013).

Luck, poem by Charles Bukowski

LUCK
by Charles Bukowski

once
we were young
at this
machine. . .
drinking
smoking
typing
it was a most 
splendid
miraculous
time
still
is
only now
instead of
moving toward
time
it 
moves toward 
us
makes each word 
drill 
into the
paper
clear
fast
hard
feeding a
closing
space.

Luck, Poem by Charles Bukowski

LUCK

by Charles Bukowski

once
we were young
at this
machine. . .
drinking
smoking
typing
it was a most 
splendid
miraculous
time
still
is
only now
instead of
moving toward
time
it 
moves toward 
us
makes each word 
drill 
into the
paper
clear
fast
hard
feeding a
closing
space.

Hemingway and Luck

“For a long time now I have tried simply to write the best I can. Sometimes I have good luck and write better than I can.” ERNEST HEMINGWAY

Cartoon: Harley L. Schwadron, ALL RIGHTS RESERVED

The Lucky Red Balloon

I’ll admit it, I read the National Enquirer when standing in checkout lines. (It reminds me of the comic books I read as a kid.) Anyway, for years the Enquirer has been running a feature called “Lucky Blue Dot.” The tabloid’s pages include a large image of a blue dot that has been energized by a psychic to bring people luck. You’re supposed to cut out the blue dot and carry it around with you for luck (quite a few big-jackpot lottery winners swear by the dot).

Anyway, all that is a preamble for our new feature: The Lucky Red Balloon. (Our previous post, the sad poem “Tragedy” about a kid who never got a red balloon, made me think of doing this. While some of us may not have received a red balloon as a kid, we can all share one now!)

Since most (if not all) of our readers are involved in the arts, we’re featuring the Lucky Red Balloon to bring you luck with all of your endeavors! Just look at the lucky red balloon and feel the luck coming your way! Please keep us posted!

As for us, we feel very lucky that you have paid a visit to our blog.