Poetic Inspiration: The Laughing Heart

Raw.

Unfiltered.

Honest.

These are the words I often use to describe Bukowski's work. But in this particular piece, 'The Laughing Heart' I noted something that is more than all those things. There appears to be a hint of both beauty and optimism.

His use of the words 'god, marvelous and delight' just seems foreign to me in thinking about his writing.

I can't help but feel that much of his work carried out the duty of stabbing daggers of truth into society's ailing holes. His poetry often leads to the dark alleyways of the human soul. The deep void of emptiness left after he was done drinking far too much. The wretched ways of wanting and needing, of striving and failing and yet despite it all, the very real success of his work.

Bukowski lived in a world where truth stung but once it landed what more could we do but print it? Absorb it.

The world we live in today seems to be more fragile. In so many ways incapable of accepting the failings of the pulled together societal fabric. A fabric that is woven from the life of every man, woman and child alive today.

This piece with its leaning toward the light is where my mental state constantly lives. No matter what disappointment befalls me, what unexpected turn shifts my focus toward needing to solve something, there is always the light if I look for it. And so often, it is literature I turn to for peace and comfort.

I chose to reflect on this poem today because always my aim is to bring forth the best in me. My own light to others as often as possible and in as many ways as possible too.

And besides this I want to remember that this is my life.

That for anyone reading this post, this is your life.

A gift.

An opportunity to shape and mold and live into whatever you see fit for joy and fulfillment. It is easy to be carried away with the challenges of daily living. With the exhaustion of doing too much. With the hope for a better tomorrow when all the while, we all have today.

The present moment is always waiting for us to just take notice.

To grab hold of it before it fades away.

FIND YOUR INSPIRATION

It's Sunday. If you haven't read poetry in a while, maybe today is a good day to dive in. Poetry is the language of our very hearts. It is the one form of literature that can soothe the soul or the aching heart. It is the one form of literature that can present slices of life that ring true. And more than anything, poetry is a companion in both the darkness and the light.

Here are some of my favorites:

Charles Bukowski

Maria Ranier Rilke

Pablo Neruda

Walter Benton