1166. No; 6 - Charles Bukowski

 

I’ll settle for the 6 horse

on a rainy afternoon

a paper cup of coffee

in my hand

a little way to go,

the wind twirling out

small wrens from

the upper grandstand roof,

the jocks coming out

for a middle race

silent

and the easy rain making

everything 

at once

almost alike,

the horses at peace with

each other

before the drunken war

and I am under the grandstand

feeling for

cigarettes

settling for coffee

then the horses walk by 

taking their little men

away—

it is funereal and graceful

and glad

like the opening 

of flowers. 

1165. On A Painting by Wang The Clerk of Yen Ling - Su Tung P’O (1036-1101)

The slender bamboo is like a hermit.

The simple flower is like a maiden.

The sparrow tilts on the branch.

A gust of rain sprinkles the flowers.

He spreads his wings to fly

and shakes all the leaves.

The bees gathering honey

Are trapped in the nectar.

What a wonderful talent

Can create an entire Spring

With a brush and a sheet of paper.

If he would try poetry

I know he would be a master of words