parallels from charles bukowski

The Aliens
from The Last Night Of The Earth Poems

you may not believe it
but there are people
who go through life with
very little
friction of distress.
they dress well, sleep well.
they are contented with
their family
life.
they are undisturbed
and often feel
very good.
and when they die
it is an easy death, usually in their
sleep.

you may not believe
it
but such people do
exist.

but i am not one of
them.
oh no, I am not one of them,
I am not even near
to being
one of
them.
but they
are there

and I am
here.

a sort of guessing game

Salon: The 7 vices of highly creative people

1. drink

"To be a drinker means, of course, to be social. Sure, it's all right to drink by oneself on occasion. But because the highly creative live so often in the private world of ideas, they also need to mingle with their friends at a good party."

2. smoke

"... as Oscar Wilde once observed, smoking a cigarette is "a perfect pleasure, because they are exquisite and leave one unsatisfied."

3. gamble

"... it's not until the end of life that we truly know what we've won or lost."

4. eat oysters

"The inspiration of this shellfish can be traced throughout the canon of English literature."

5. dress well

"... it's prudent to remember that the highly creative have always known that communication with words is secondary."

6. sexual appetite

"Writer and historian Gore Vidal is quoted famously as stating, "There are no heterosexuals or homosexuals, only homo- or heterosexual acts. Most people are a mixture of impulses."

7. live off credit

"Because most highly creative people never fully enter the work force, nor make a salary sufficient to their needs, credit is a necessity."

.: 4/7 is not so bad

vices, oh vices. irregularities of being or merely bad habits?
I -> defects, weaknesses, over- or under-
//socially curated?
B -> sinful, addiction, corruption
// environmentally caused?

one or the other, or both, we all have them. some are better at hiding theirs than others. or supress them.
i say indulge. in moderation. overall and at the end, averaged to an accepted amount. by one's own standards of course.

- j

yes, i see: it is not possible to live an unaffected life purely of your innate self
yes, i know: our encounters and relationships give rise to blended outer edges, which can trickle inwards
but, i wonder: of how many/much of our preferences can we claim stake
but, i think: we are all extensions of each other

to place yourself in separate mindsets, states of being, alternative realities. to be open. to understand.
'in the fullness of time,' this would be the greatest human condition




really, it's all one. realize that it's not about differentiation. pursue > self

- jenny