Poems written by Charles Bukowski <br />Your life is your life <br />don’t let it be clubbed into dank submission. <br />be on the watch. <br />there are ways out. <br />there is light somewhere. <br />it may not be much light but <br />it beats the darkness. <br />be on the watch. <br />the gods will offer you chances. <br />know them. <br />take them. <br />you can’t beat death but <br />you can beat death in life, sometimes. <br />and the more often you learn to do it, <br />the more light there will be. <br />your life is your life. <br />know it while you have it. <br />you are marvelous <br />the gods wait to delight <br />in you. <br /> <br />“If you’re going to try, go all the way. <br />Otherwise, don’t even start. <br />This could mean losing girlfriends, wives, relatives and maybe even your mind. <br />It could mean not eating for three or four days. <br />It could mean freezing on a park bench. <br />It could mean jail. <br />It could mean derision. <br />It could mean mockery — isolation. <br />Isolation is the gift. <br />All the others are a test of your endurance, of how much you really want to do it. <br />And, you’ll do it, despite rejection and the worst odds. <br />And it will be better than anything else you can imagine. <br />If you’re going to try, go all the way. <br />There is no other feeling like that. <br />You will be alone with the gods, and the nights will flame with fire. <br />You will ride life straight to perfect laughter. <br />It’s the only good fight there is.”
