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Two Poems with Bukowski
by Andie Bottrell
by Andie Bottrell
BOOKS THAT BECOME FRIENDS
I realize I’m not alone in this
(though selfishly I wish I were)I’ve read so much Bukowski that
he now feels like an old friend
and every book is like a letter
or a page out of his diary
that he is only ever going to
share with me.
That is exactly what all
poetry should strive
to be.
Sitting on Public Toilets
I don’t know why
I prefer being alone in public.
I’d rather watch than participate,
even though I know it makes people
feel uncomfortable.
You’re not supposed to enjoy
being alone.
People are pack animals,
though I’ve always been more akin
to the wolf.
In middle-school,
I was home-schooled for the latter half
and I lost all my school friends
who deemed me
too weird.
And when we moved down south,
and I had to go back to public school,
the kids ostracized me.
It was a small town
and outsiders were considered some kind
of a threat, though I’m not sure
to what.
In high school
I did some time in the public restrooms.
I guess I used to be embarrassed
about being alone, too.
I guess it’s an acquired taste,
like how I now also quite enjoy
public restrooms.
Panara has a quaint little ladies room.
I like to listen to their classical music station
while I read Bukowski
on the pot.
I don’t know why
I prefer being alone in public.
I’d rather watch than participate,
even though I know it makes people
feel uncomfortable.
You’re not supposed to enjoy
being alone.
People are pack animals,
though I’ve always been more akin
to the wolf.
In middle-school,
I was home-schooled for the latter half
and I lost all my school friends
who deemed me
too weird.
And when we moved down south,
and I had to go back to public school,
the kids ostracized me.
It was a small town
and outsiders were considered some kind
of a threat, though I’m not sure
to what.
In high school
I did some time in the public restrooms.
I guess I used to be embarrassed
about being alone, too.
I guess it’s an acquired taste,
like how I now also quite enjoy
public restrooms.
Panara has a quaint little ladies room.
I like to listen to their classical music station
while I read Bukowski
on the pot.
da: thetakakareview
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italian version by Alessandro Gaudio
Libri che
diventano amici
Mi rendo conto che non sono sola
in questo
(anche se egoisticamente vorrei
esserlo) ho letto così tanto Bukowski che
adesso lo sento come un vecchio
amico
e ogni libro è come una lettera
o una pagina del suo diario
che sta sempre e soltanto
condividendo con me.
Questo è esattamente ciò che
tutta
la poesia
deve sforzarsi
di
essere.
Seduta nei bagni pubblici
Io non so perché
preferisco stare da sola in pubblico.
Piuttosto che partecipare preferisco
guardare,
anche se so che fa sentire le persone
a disagio.
Non dovrebbe piacerti
restare sola.
Le persone sono animali da soma,
anche se mi sono sempre sentita più simile
al lupo.
Durante le scuole medie,
ero scolarizzata a casa per la seconda metà di esse
e ho perso tutti i miei compagni
che hanno pensato fossi
troppo strana.
E quando ci siamo trasferiti a
sud,
e sono tornata in una scuola
pubblica,
i ragazzi mi hanno rifiutato.
Era una piccola città
e i forestieri sono considerati
una sorta
di una minaccia, anche se non so
per cosa.
Al liceo
ho trascorso un po’ di tempo nei
bagni pubblici.
Credo che mi sentissi in imbarazzo
anche nel restare da sola.
Suppongo che sia un gusto
acquisito,
il modo in cui adesso mi
piacciono anche molto
i bagni pubblici.
Panara ha un piccolo
caratteristico bagno delle donne.
Mi piace ascoltare la sua
stazione di musica classica
mentre leggo Bukowski
sul vaso.
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