Bukowski didn't have friends

i see the cuts; confirmation
step off the diving board into self-loathing
pick up a couple of Steel Reserve

maybe the dentist will have some good news for me
in the morning though i doubt it

Satan loves you and wants all your songs

i'm trying to sleep but
that goddamn phone is vibrating
i'm trying to jerk off but
that goddamn phone is vibrating
i'm trying to drink but
that goddamn phone is vibrating

i think about breaking the damn thing
but then i'd have to buy
a new phone

and i don't care much for playing the consumer

Set in Stone

palm lines, liquor, shame

every time I hit the liquor store
a mixture of sadness and relief hits me
I know how the night goes
I just wonder if anyone else is thinking about me
as I down more and more liquor

this is how you made me

we went to F.Y.E. not too long before it closed
he bought Recovery by Eminem
I don't remember what I bought but I remember the sound
of Eminem blasting through my Sonata's speakers
as we made our way back home
it's in my possession still
and sadness propels into me every time I see it

tanked

singing Neil Young in the back of a Sonata
my friends; they're there
laughter comes easy at the bottom
of our Gatorades spiked with vodka
we'll play it again, again and again

presumptuous

no, I'm not the only person to say
"I wish I was six again"
but I bet
I'm the only one who means it

it didn't hit me
until U2
started playing
on the radio

the alcoholic clown drives home

your writing is heavy and sleek
with black comedy
hell, i know
you're more creative than me
but i'm touched you'd share it with me

rolling up the hose

as I watched you wash your car down
I wanted to lift you up off your feet
and smile in your face

my feet are heavy
i hope my worries will last
as long as this three minute song

i'm almost twenty-two
wonder if i should have stayed in school

nothing helps ease the pain at all
these bad dreams won't leave for long
tell me; what do i do?

the bond between drinkers

i don't think i'll ever tell him that i held him that night
he drank too much; slid halfway down the dunes
i chased after him and stopped his descent
he shivered uncontrollably saying that
it was too cold and that he didn't want to live anymore
i hugged him and placed my jacket around him
to try and keep him warm
i stayed up most of the night to make sure he was okay
in the morning he introduced me to Abner Jay
as he spit and complained how dehydrated he was