Be Kind - Charles Bukowski

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Henry Charles Bukowski was an American poet, novelist, and short-story writer. Bukowski’s writing was heavily influenced by the geography and atmosphere of his home city of Los Angeles and is marked by an emphasis on the ordinary lives of poor Americans, the act of writing, alcohol, relationships with women, and the drudgery of work. A prolific author, Bukowski wrote thousands of poems, hundreds of short stories, and six novels, eventually having over 60 books in print.

We are always asked
to understand the other person’s
viewpoint
no matter how
out-dated
foolish or
obnoxious.

one is asked
to view
their total error
their life-waste
with
kindliness,
especially if they are
aged.

but age is the total of
our doing.
they have aged
badly
because they have
lived
out of focus,
they have refused to
see.

not their fault?

whose fault?
mine?

I am asked to hide
my viewpoint
from them
for fear of their
fear.

age is no crime

but the shame
of a deliberately
wasted
life

among so many
deliberately
wasted
lives

is.

In this poem by Charles Bukowski, readers are presented with one main question. Is it kind to publicly agree with the outdated thinking of elders, or is it merely destructive? Bukowski presents this system of hiding true viewpoints in favor of old ways as a dangerous cycle. When one generation passively adopts the views of its forefathers, the next will do the same, and so on, until hundreds of years later, few innovative thoughts have been adopted. Why then does society reject the search for truth in favor of “being kind?”

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Special Thanks & Credits:

Read By Matthew Baker From Poets Corner

Creative Commons CC BY-SA 3.0

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