“Be Kind” – Charles Bukowski

we are always asked
to understand the other person’s
viewpoint
no matter how
out-dated
foolish or
obnoxious.

one is asked
to view
their total error
their life-waste
with
kindliness,
especially if they are
aged.

but age is the total of
our doing.
they have aged
badly
because they have
lived
out of focus,
they have refused to
see.

not their fault?

whose fault?
mine?

I am asked to hide
my viewpoint
from them
for fear of their
fear.

age is no crime

but the shame
of a deliberately
wasted
life

among so many
deliberately
wasted
lives

is.

This was one of the more interesting poems that I have ever read. It really does pose questions about reality that he addresses in some correct manners, I think, and some manners that are a little out there. I agreee with the first point brought up. It is extremely hard to view a seemingly negative viewpoint to us in the way of the one carrying out the action. I found a perfect example of this to be suicide bombers. Those who blow themselves up believe that it is the right thing in the name of their religion to sacrafice themselves (not to mention all the virgins they get…) for their religion. We, as Americans, generally view this as a cruel act and we have gone to war over it. I think that it is true that we need to see both viewpoints sometimes before making judgements.

I am a little skeptical, however, to believe the final part of the poem. Bukowski kind of makes a pretty big assumption about what wasting a life is. I don’t agree with Bukowski. The poem addresses ignorance to look at other people’s viewpoints, and Bukowski seems to agree, in the end, that other people’s viewpoints don’t really matter. I found this poem to be pretty radically egocentric but does provide interesting insight, although I do not agree