Nirvana by Charles Bukowski

Music: Max Richter - Path 5 (Delta)
Speaker: Tom O' Bedlam (SpokenVerse)

Full poem:
not much chance,
completely cut loose from
purpose,
he was a young man
riding a bus
through North Carolina
on the way to somewhere
and it began to snow
and the bus stopped
at a little cafe
in the hills
and the passengers
entered.
he sat at the counter
with the others,
he ordered and the
food arrived.
the meal was
particularly
good
and the
coffee.
the waitress was
unlike the women
he had
known.
she was unaffected,
there was a natural
humor which came
from her.
the fry cook said
crazy things.
the dishwasher.
in back,
laughed, a good
clean
pleasant
laugh.
the young man watched
the snow through the
windows.
he wanted to stay
in that cafe
forever.
the curious feeling
swam through him
that everything
was
beautiful
there,
that it would always
stay beautiful
there.
then the bus driver
told the passengers
that it was time
to board.
the young man
thought, I'll just sit
here, I'll just stay
here.
but then
he rose and followed
the others into the
bus.
he found his seat
and looked at the cafe
through the bus
window.
then the bus moved
off, down a curve,
downward, out of
the hills.
the young man
looked straight
forward.
he heard the other
passengers
speaking
of other things,
or they were
reading
or
attempting to
sleep.
they had not
noticed
the
magic.
the young man
put his head to
one side,
closed his
eyes,
pretended to
sleep.
there was nothing
else to do-
just to listen to the
sound of the
engine,
the sound of the
tires
in the
snow.

#Bukowski #CharlesBukowski

[Werebat]

I gave this poem to my wife when we married. It speaks to me of our first year together, where I did not feel ready to commit and planned from early on to end things after a year. She was the waitress who was unlike the women I had known, or maybe she was the entire cafe.
When the time came - I really wrestled with it, because while I had really enjoyed our time together, I felt like I had made a promise to myself. But in the end, after we talked it out, she somehow told me exactly what I needed to hear - and so I did not get back on that bus.
That was over 20 years ago, now. 20 wonderful years, and three more wonderful kids. I listen to this poem sometimes - usually the Tom Waits version - and shudder a bit, thinking of how close I came to getting back on that bus to… somewhere.
Thank God I did not.

[ponyboygarfunkel]

This piece is among my favorites, and I like to return to it from time to time. It well captures a feeling of isolation and the desire for a place to belong.

[richardeckard]

I take this as someone who feels like an outcast and doesn't belong anywhere or to anyone and longing for place that feels like home. There are moments in life we truly wish we could make last longer. I loved this... watched it three times and have a tear in my eye.

[wildflowerlover]

Oh my! The imagery used here is extraordinary. For a moment, I felt like I am that guy in the poem. It triggered a beautiful yet a sad feeling inside of me. This poem is unforgettable. Thank you for sharing Bukowski's magic 🙏❤️😊😢

[rauldiaz]

The background music fits perfect the beauty of this poem

[sachinksd]

Man this is has instigated a desire in me to make a bus tour to hills like good old days . Taking a break at local eateries, chatters of passengers, those different laughters, smoke . That stranger speaking to me ... every thing like Deja vu

[Bolero-]

that young man was him, and he put it in a way you just want to know where exactly that magic place is.

[bhatnaxim]

bukowski's nirvana, his magic ride to the hills; he had it, he had it for a moment!

[Extraart-cjam]

Great work, Charles Bukowski, I remember when I felt lonely in the bus listening to engines and tyres. This is real 👍

[LearnWithAMicrobiologyGeek]

This poem haunts me from time to time—actually, all the time. The music, *Max Richter - Path 5 (Delta)*, adds an extra layer to the impression, and Tom O'Bedlam's spoken verse in the video is simply phenomenal. Absolutely mesmerizing.

[dagmarcuringa]

Bukowisk vê o invisível. Não há palavras para descrever sua poesia.

[jimw.]

Brilliant, evocative poem by the master - Charles Bukowski.
Brilliant reading also by Tom o'Bedlam.
👏👏👏👏👏

[АлександрЛемешев-юю]

Damn me, I just felt through it all, it is a beautiful, a really magic

[XOXO-mbvh]

Yes, I've been to those places too. It's sad to leave.

[nobudgetmovieremake]

Hauntingly beautiful, thank you so much for this.

[safim]

Nice! Hadn't heard this one before, so thank you!

[ConnorO]

This to me resonates, as ever since I was young, a hotel room, a cafe, a nice market, a pub, these things always felt magical to me, an I grow older I find myself less lost in the moment, as I endlessly try to reach the future

[ganamobeats]

love it. so many small thoughts and subtle human interactions described profoundly.

[vieraveira]

This is the first time I find a video fit so smoothly with a Charles Bukowsky poem. Great work!

[Coexisties]

This takes me back to my brief time in Yosemite over almost two decades ago.. as a 16 year old, I truly wanted to stay there, forever.