Whats The Use Of A Title? Poem by Charles Bukowski

Whats The Use Of A Title?

Rating: 3.1


They don't make it
the beautiful die in flame-
suicide pills, rat poison, rope what-
ever...
they rip their arms off,
throw themselves out of windows,
they pull their eyes out of the sockets,
reject love
reject hate
reject, reject.

they don't make it
the beautiful can't endure,
they are butterflies
they are doves
they are sparrows,
they don't make it.

one tall shot of flame
while the old men play checkers in the park
one flame, one good flame
while the old men play checkers in the park
in the sun.

the beautiful are found in the edge of a room
crumpled into spiders and needles and silence
and we can never understand why they
left, they were so
beautiful.

they don't make it,
the beautiful die young
and leave the ugly to their ugly lives.

lovely and brilliant: life and suicide and death
as the old men play checkers in the sun
in the park.



Anonymous submission.

Whats The Use Of A Title?
COMMENTS OF THE POEM
Nikola 23 May 2022

What are the old men doing again? i forgot

2 2 Reply
Ghost Watcher Megee 16 December 2014

you are a great person and I hope you find love and joy in your life

0 4 Reply
Thomas Case 08 February 2010

Bukowski captures humanity at its grittiest, goriest, glorious worst.

8 2 Reply
Marcia Zeller 04 December 2008

in the words of toni morrison. 'physical beauty is the most destructive thing in history. it originated envy, thrived on insecurity, and ended in delusion ' mr. bukowski may have been on the verge of something great here. if he only pushed a little further.

11 2 Reply
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