Book Club

Sitting with a group of middle aged men

who find Bukowski’s writing

“inauthentic”

“I mean no one that ugly and crude

Was getting all those women”

“he was a drunk, it’s all lies”

And I sit quietly

wondering just how soft

and safe

and dull

their lives must have been

I could tell them some stories

share some anecdotes

maybe even provide phone numbers

being ugly and drunk is no barrier

It just takes balls

and arrogance

and self belief

If I smoked

I’d light up a cigar, pour a whiskey

and say, “listen here fellas…”

Instead I just smile

and try not to laugh in their faces

maybe I’m just soft and dull now too

© Kami 2026