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Printed from https://shop.writing.com/main/books/entry_id/1070592-Charles-Bukowski-Road-Not-Chosen-Published
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Rated: 13+ · Book · Cultural · #2300153
Reposted "the World According to Cosmos "(https://theworldaccordingtocosmos.com) SIgn-up!
#1070592 added May 6, 2024 at 6:30am
Restrictions: None
Charles Bukowski Road Not Chosen Published
Spillwords is publishing my poem, Charles Bukowski Road Not Chosen in their next issue coming soon.
you can find my other work published by Spillwords as follows on their web site
@https://spillwords.com/?s=Jake+Cosmos+Aller&ct_bot_detector_event_token=3b279463...


SPOTLIGHT ON WRITERS – JAKE COSMOS ALLER
JAKE COSMOS ALLER·JUNE 26, 2021
Spotlight On Writers Jake Cosmos Aller @Jakecaller Where, do you hail from? I grew up in Berkeley,...
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ONE NIGHT IN BOMBAY
JAKE COSMOS ALLER·JANUARY 23, 2024
One Night in Bombay written by: Jake Cosmos Aller @aller_jake One night In Bombay, India I walked into...
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MOZART BLUES
JAKE COSMOS ALLER·OCTOBER 2, 2023
Mozart Blues written by: Jake Cosmos Aller @aller_jake One morning I woke up And walked out of my...
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REFLECTIONS IN MY BEER
JAKE COSMOS ALLER·MAY 31, 2023
Reflections in My Beer written by: Jake Cosmos Aller @aller_jake I sit staring at my beer Listening to...
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LONELY DOG
JAKE COSMOS ALLER·DECEMBER 30, 2022
Lonely Dog written by: Jake Cosmos Aller @aller_jake A lonely dog Goes out into the courtyard Waiting for...
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DAZZLING LIGHT OF THE FULL MOON
JAKE COSMOS ALLER·AUGUST 21, 2022
Dazzling Light of The Full Moon written by: Jake Cosmos Aller @aller_jake Dazzling light of the full moon...
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STRANGERS SLEEPING ON THE STREETS
JAKE COSMOS ALLER·SEPTEMBER 7, 2021
Strangers Sleeping on The Streets written by: Jake Cosmos Aller @Jakecaller In these sad days of the pandemic...
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EVE EATS THE APPLE
JAKE COSMOS ALLER·JUNE 10, 2021
Eve Eats The Apple written by: Jake Cosmos Aller @Jakecaller Eve was in the garden Talking with Mr....
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JUST ENOUGH FOR COFFEE
JAKE COSMOS ALLER·FEBRUARY 9, 2021
Just Enough for Coffee written by: Jake Cosmos Aller @Jakecaller A homeless man Stood on the street Counting...
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MOCKING FACES STARING AT ME
JAKE COSMOS ALLER·SEPTEMBER 19, 2020
Mocking Faces Staring at Me written by: Jake Cosmos Aller @Jakecaller Mocking faces hunting my dreams Hundreds of...
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CHAOS
JAKE COSMOS ALLER·JULY 6, 2020
Chaos written by: Jake Cosmos Aller @Jakecaller the world descends into chaos as our world leaders led by...
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DORA THE INTERGALACTIC EXPLORER
JAKE COSMOS ALLER·APRIL 27, 2020
Dora The Intergalactic Explorer written by: Jake Cosmos Aller @Jakecaller Dora the intergalactic explorer Is traveling to the...
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EVERYDAY I TURN ON THE NEWS
JAKE COSMOS ALLER·MARCH 26, 2020
Everyday I Turn On The News written by: Jake Cosmos Aller @Jakecaller every day I turn on the...
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MORNING LIGHT
JAKE COSMOS ALLER·FEBRUARY 12, 2020
Morning Light written by: Jake Cosmos Aller the terrors of the night the worst imaginings of what might...
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RAMBLING MAN, WHERE IS YOUR HOME?
JAKE COSMOS ALLER·SEPTEMBER 7, 2018
Rambling Man, Where is your Home? written by: Jake Cosmos Aller Where is my home? Where do I...
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DARK DANGEROUS THOUGHTS
JAKE COSMOS ALLER·AUGUST 19, 2018
Dark Dangerous Thoughts written by: Jake Cosmos Aller An old man wakes up Confronting the dark dangerous thoughts...
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IN SEARCH OF AMERICA – HITCHHIKING TALES
JAKE COSMOS ALLER·JULY 31, 2018
In Search of America Hitchhiking Tales written by: Jake Cosmos Aller When I was young and foolish Broke...
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BUS RIDES IN AMERICA’S UNDERBELLY
JAKE COSMOS ALLER·JULY 13, 2018
Bus Rides In America’s Underbelly written by: Jake Cosmos Aller the Bus – Travels Through America’s Underbelly I...
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Thank you for submitting your literary work to us. We are delighted to share the exciting news that our team has reviewed your piece and it has been chosen for publication on Spillwords.com. Congratulations!
We are currently finalizing the publication details. In the near future, you can expect another message from us with all the necessary information, including the publication date, time, and the link to your published work. Make sure to mark your calendar and share this wonderful news with your friends, family, and fellow writers.
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* Please note that publication scheduling is based on the ebb and flow of submissions, as well as the daily relevance of the literary work to our schedule. As a result, your work may be scheduled up to a month in advance, with some exceptions. We appreciate your understanding.

DAGMARA K.
Chief Editor | Editing Department

editor@spillwords.com

www.spillwords.com





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Thank you from the team at Spillwords Press!
Title: Charles Bukowski Road Not Chosen

While reading Charles Bukowski's poetry
On the metro ride home
Listening to Buddha bar music
On my oh too hip IPod

I begin to see myself as I was
Over 30 years ago when I was merely a bit player
A minor character in a Charles Bukowski poem

A wild young underemployed intellectual
Hanging out in dismal bars and dives all over Asia and California
Hanging with disreputable women and drunks and drinkers
And characters out of his kinds of haunts

A mad poet bard of the underground
A drunken poet in a drunken bum show
That nightly played in his head

Then one day I met the woman of my dreams
And went down a different path
A long slow path to respectability

And now 30 years later
I am no longer a wild man
I am still a poet at heart
But I am now also a bureaucrat
In a button-down suite

Doing the people's business
Working for the Government
I've become the Man

Sometimes I wonder
Would I have been better off
Going down that other path

Would I have ended up
Somewhere else
Doing something else

Would I have been as happy
Would I have been as successful?

No answer satisfies
The longing in my heart
For that wild thing
That still lurks beneath
It's a civilized cover

And I know that I am still
A mad poet at heart
Railing against the injustice of the world

As I work day by day in the belly of the great beast of State
I recall the ancient Chinese saying,
"Confucian during the day while Taoist rebel at night"
Playing out in my head and nightly dreams
In the true American Upper-class patrician tradition

I close the book and look out the window
Get off the train, and walk slowly home

And realize I had no choice
But to take the path that I’ve trodden on

And so I put aside my misgivings
And say goodbye to my "Bukowskian" desires
For another night of domestic contentment

Was it worth it all to take the conventional path?
And not take the bohemian road to hell and back

I look at my wife and realize
I had no choice, had no choice
But to follow her to the ends of the earth

And beyond by her side as we walked our path
Of shared destiny

Goodbye Charles Bukowski wherever you are
May I meet you in a bar in the next life?
And figure out where we should have gone

Until then the drinks are on me.


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Printed from https://shop.writing.com/main/books/entry_id/1070592-Charles-Bukowski-Road-Not-Chosen-Published