Quotes from Charles Bukowski

The courage it took to get out of bed each morning to face the same things over and over was enormous.

In the morning it was morning and I was still alive.

It's 4:30 in the morning, it's always 4:30 in the morning.

... to die on a kitchen floor at 7 o'clock in the morning while other people are frying eggs is not so rough unless it happens to you.

Daddy,' my mother asked, 'aren't we going to run out of gas?' No there's plenty of god-damned gas.' Where are we going?' I'm going to get some god-damed oranges!

what matters most is how well you walk through the fire

There is nothing that teaches you more than regrouping after failure and moving on.

There's no point in writing my kind of stuff, when they're printing that kind of stuff. So I gave up and started drinking.

the grace is being able to like rock music, symphony music, jazz … anything that contains the original energy of joy.

all that I know is that I believe in the sound of music and the running of a horse. all else is squabble.

There's music in everything, even defeat

Those who preach god, need god Those who preach peace do not have peace Those who preach love do not have love

places to hunt places to hide are getting harder to find, and pet canaries and goldfish too, did you notice that?

Animals never worry about Heaven or Hell. Neither do I. Maybe that's why we get along.

Bad poetry is caused by people who sit down and think, Now I am going to write a Poem.

Poetry is what happens when nothing else can.

There is something about writing poetry that brings a man close to the cliff's edge.

If I bet on humanity, I'd never cash a ticket.

Careful poetry and careful people live only long enough to die safely.

but as God said, crossing his legs, I see where I have made plenty of poets but not so very much poetry.

the impossibility of being humanall too humanthis breathingin and outout and inthese punksthese cowardsthese championsthese mad dogs of glorymoving this little bit of light towardusimpossibly.

when I am feelinglowall i have to do iswatch my catsand mycouragereturns

Ya got cigarettes?" she asks. "Yes, " I say, "I got cigarettes." "Matches?" she asks."Enough to burn Rome." "Whiskey?""Enough whiskey for a Mississippi River of pain." "You drunk?" "Not yet.

there are so many dayswhen living stops and pulls up and sitsand waits like a train on the rails.