when I look back now
at the abuse I took from
her
I feel shame that I was so
innocent,
but I must say
she did match me drink for
drink,
and I realized that her life
her feelings for things
had been ruined
along the way
and that I was no mare than a
temporary
companion;
she was ten years older
and mortally hurt by the past
and the present;
she treated me badly:
desertion, other
men;
she brought me immense
pain,
continually;
she lied, stole;
there was desertion,
other men,
yet we had our moments; and
our little soap opera ended
with her in a coma
in the hospital,
and I sat at her bed
for hours
talking to her,
and then she opened her eyes
and saw me:
"I knew it would be you,"
she said.
then hse closed her
eyes.
the next day she was
dead.
I drank alone
for two years
after that.
I feel the subject matter is very strong and he handles it with such directness. I think the reason we feel so close to this poem is because the writer is really talking to us giving us a reason to care. The title also gives us a sense of the story. My First Affair With That Older Woman when I look back now at the abuse I took from her I feel shame that I was so innocent It really brings down that stereotype that only men can take advantage of women. It provides with another way to view the male vs. female power struggle. Wonderful poem! ! ! ! !
This poem has not been translated into any other language yet.
I would like to translate this poem
Tremendous sorrow handled with efficiency. Instead of being maudlin and overly sentimental, Bukowski just tells the facts. The reader supplies the emotion.