Bukowski Blues Poem by John Thorkild Ellison

I live in a dirty, dingy house,
The haunt of the beetle, bedbug and mouse,
But I don't care at all about the flea and the louse
So long as I'm sipping the Famous Grouse!

A taste of that and I feel a lot better
Than the day I got that Dear John letter
And wished by the gods that I'd never met her!
Yes, when I drink whisky I feel a lot better.

I don't care about the mess on the floor
Or the piles of rubbish at the back door -
This place is a pig-sty, that's for sure,
Please pass me the bottle and I'll have some more!

It gives me a kick that chases my blues,
Ignites my humour and provokes my Muse,
It the one panacea a poet should choose
And I'm swigging it now 'cos I've nothing to lose!

It'll ruin my liver, they keep telling me that,
I'm old, unfit and far too fat,
But I'm keeping their warnings under my hat
While my soul's as frisky as a mad tomcat! !