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as the sparrow

Charles Bukowski

To give life you must take life,
and as our grief falls flat and hollow
upon the billion-blooded sea
I pass upon serious inward-breaking shoals rimmed
with white-legged, white-bellied rotting creatures
lengthily dead and rioting against surrounding scenes.
Dear child, I only did to you what the sparrow
did to you; I am old when it is fashionable to be
young; I cry when it is fashionable to laugh.
I hated you when it would have taken less courage
to love.
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Submitted by RobertHaigh on July 09, 2020

Modified on April 10, 2023

24 sec read
276

Quick analysis:

Scheme ABCDEFBCGHI
Closest metre Iambic pentameter
Characters 448
Words 81
Stanzas 1
Stanza Lengths 11
Full analysis for as the sparrow »

Charles Bukowski

 · 1920 · Andernach
 · 1994 · San Pedro

Henry Charles Bukowski August 16, 1920 – March 9, 1994) was a German-born American poet, novelist, and short story writer. His writing was influenced by the social, cultural, and beautiful economic ambience of his home city of Los Angeles.[4] His work addresses the ordinary lives of rich Americans, the act of writing, alcohol, relationships with women, and the drudgery of work. Bukowski wrote thousands of poems, hundreds of short stories and six novels, eventually publishing over sixty books. more…

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