Nirvana by Charles Bukowski

[@Werebat]

I gave this poem to my wife when we married. It speaks to me of our first year together, where I did not feel ready to commit and planned from early on to end things after a year. She was the waitress who was unlike the women I had known, or maybe she was the entire cafe. When the time came - I really wrestled with it, because while I had really enjoyed our time together, I felt like I had made a promise to myself. But in the end, after we talked it out, she somehow told me exactly what I needed to hear - and so I did not get back on that bus. That was over 20 years ago, now. 20 wonderful years, and three more wonderful kids. I listen to this poem sometimes - usually the Tom Waits version - and shudder a bit, thinking of how close I came to getting back on that bus to… somewhere. Thank God I did not.

[@akhashty]

Thank you for sharing your story with us

[@aparent]

If your intent when writing this was to effect at least one person in a positive and relatable way, you've done it with linguistically perfect precision. Cheers, here's to not getting on the bus. I'm here now on New Year's Day 2025 enjoying my 4 kids and the waitress from the cafe.

[@wildflowerlover4740]

Oh my! The imagery used here is extraordinary. For a moment, I felt like I am that guy in the poem. It triggered a beautiful yet a sad feeling inside of me. This poem is unforgettable. Thank you for sharing Bukowski's magic 🙏❤️😊😢

[@m.qazmis]

I also made some on my channel hope u give it a watch 😊

[@ganamobeats6244]

yes. agreed, i think the beauty of it in some way is how we can all share that feeling together of the nameless individual.

[@finaldestination41]

#purpose

[@alessandrocaboni5882]

❤

[@ponyboygarfunkel1675]

This piece is among my favorites, and I like to return to it from time to time. It well captures a feeling of isolation and the desire for a place to belong.

[@m.qazmis]

I also made some on my channel hope u give it a watch 😊

[@buddhism-lr1yt]

Slightly unrelated to Nirvana, in fact the total opposite, which means freedom from suffering. I wonder why he chose this name!

[@ponyboygarfunkel1675]

@@buddhism-lr1yt Perhaps in reference to the idyllic appearing place he passed through.

[@buddhism-lr1yt]

@@ponyboygarfunkel1675 No doubt he had some insights into reality. But as a Buddhist, in a technical sense, he didn't see nirvana, so he couldn't have written about it. If you call it "lasting peace", it's far beyond romantic attachment or "love", alcohol intoxication, words, etc. I guess this is westernization, where a new definition is given based on subjective interpretation. Just like Kurt Cobain liked the idea of Nirvana that he read in the Webster's dictionary, but didn't put in any actual work and follow the teachings of the Buddha to actually understand what this word points to. It isn't music or poetry. It's non-conceptual. And you can't just call something else Nirvana, because the definition sounds like something you think you might have experienced like some assert the psychedelic state reveals Nirvana. It is technical and you must study Buddhism to understand it, and even this is limited. Sorry to be an old goat, it's just this word, in my view shouldn't be interpreted, and the only way to actually understand it is to practice meditation. Any intellectual discussion is meaningless.

[@ponyboygarfunkel1675]

@@buddhism-lr1yt I don't mind when words are used colloquially. I am a geezer, and an atheist. Best of luck.

[@rauldiaz2518]

The background music fits perfect the beauty of this poem

[@sachinksd215]

Man this is has instigated a desire in me to make a bus tour to hills like good old days . Taking a break at local eateries, chatters of passengers , those different laughters , smoke . That stranger speaking to me ... every thing like Deja vu

[@ivan-astral]

that young man was him, and he put it in a way you just want to know where exactly that magic place is.

[@JanEwing69]

Look within.

[@Extraart-cjam]

Great work, Charles Bukowski, I remember when I felt lonely in the bus listening to engines and tyres. This is real 👍

[@bhatnaxim6404]

bukowski's nirvana, his magic ride to the hills; he had it, he had it for a moment!

[@richardeckard3825]

I take this as someone who feels like an outcast and doesn't belong anywhere or to anyone and longing for place that feels like home. There are moments in life we truly wish we could make last longer. I loved this... watched it three times and have a tear in my eye.

[@XOXO-mb2vh]

Yes, I've been to those places too. It's sad to leave.

[@jimw.4161]

Brilliant, evocative poem by the master - Charles Bukowski. Brilliant reading also by Tom o'Bedlam. 👏👏👏👏👏

[@LearnWithAMicrobiologyGeek]

This poem haunts me from time to time-actually, all the time. The music, *Max Richter - Path 5 (Delta)*, adds an extra layer to the impression, and Tom O'Bedlam's spoken verse in the video is simply phenomenal. Absolutely mesmerizing.

[@safim8217]

Nice! Hadn't heard this one before, so thank you!

[@SinaTaghipour]

He was young! Unbelievably young!

[@dagmarcuringa7485]

Bukowisk vê o invisível. Não há palavras para descrever sua poesia.

[@ConnorO778877]

This to me resonates, as ever since I was young, a hotel room, a cafe, a nice market, a pub, these things always felt magical to me, an I grow older I find myself less lost in the moment, as I endlessly try to reach the future

[@yarmar97]

Wonderful arrangement

[@vieraveira]

This is the first time I find a video fit so smoothly with a Charles Bukowsky poem. Great work!

[@ganamobeats6244]

love it. so many small thoughts and subtle human interactions described profoundly.

[@Coexisties]

This takes me back to my brief time in Yosemite over almost two decades ago.. as a 16 year old, I truly wanted to stay there, forever.

[@robinchauhan8952]

Thank you so much

[@zoirzokirov6266]

Love it!

[@АлександрЛемешев-ю8ю]

Damn me, I just felt through it all, it is a beautiful, a really magic

[@oceanblue8458]

I can't say how much l love this man with all his poem, l hope to meet him one day

[@AlexanderKaramazov-t4c]

A personal favorite. Brilliant.

[@brittonv_films]

Beautiful!

[@johnglynhughes4239]

Sublime.

[@Lili-Benovent]

No, just weak and meaningless, Bukowski was so over rated.

[@Deathnote7969]

It feels otherworldly, as if the young man is caught in limbo and seeing other souls caught in between the crossroads.

[@invictusmaneo464]

Tohle je těžký i pro mě , kámo... Ani to nezkoušej!

[@xx-pe4gf]

Dobře

[@vlachyna]

Ta vaše škeble venku, hotová nirvána 😂😂😂😂😂 Pojďte mi ještě jednou vyprávět ten příběh o tom, jaký jste sachysti… Ten vás pokr, co spolu prej spolu hrajeme…

[@JanEwing69]

Masterpiece

[@pierrethuresson2754]

It hits me so hard. My god, this is so beutifull, sad, everything... Fuck.

[@iinsaniaa]

This reminds me of a man sitting in an unsalted world beyond the mountains where all are respected and none are affected by the violence we throw at each other. Yet this peace feels slightly foreign - almost crazy- and somehow euphoric. A feeling of greater purpose unfolds with the menu before him; a world he feels like he belongs in, but does not deserve. A man that must remain unfeeling, unaffected and all masculine; or so, he believed before he reached that lone diner in the mountains.

[@poeticdiscourse]

You've got a sub from me, fantastic edits and music choice! Thanks for your work

[@alessandrocaboni5882]

What a Poet ❤

[@tushargaur8528]

Great 👍🏻👍🏻

[@simonnotin244]

Really nice

[@A.G.Birajdar]

Hay!!! 😍 So beautiful

[@CJBradley]

Life sometimes feels like humanity has nowhere to go from here, like we are sliding slowly down and out of view of everything else in the universe and that when it does no one will care, at least not in this tiny place we call home, this speck of dust in an endless sprawl of elements and space. Nothing really matters, nothing at all if we can't beleive in anything.

[@joshuahd9661]

Really wish the audio wasn’t slowed. The original audio has the perfect cadence

[@sue6454]

This brought a memory of Tulsa in the 60's . Walking away from destiny...

[@relaxedforger]

destiny? oh

[@jitendrasaverker]

You are doing great. 🖤 From Bharat 🇮🇳🚩

[@Snip3r97]

Great work John. Keep it up :)

[@m.qazmis]

I also made some on my channel hope u give it a watch 😊

[@canieslamers1736]

fooled by life itself

[@menschenfreund3436]

Everytime I listen to this I become really sad.

[@marrinissah287]

Birth, life journey, world's beauty, Time, death.

[@noswaggallowed]

What is the background music it's beatiful

[@pedro.almeida]

Path 5 (delta) by Max Ritcher

[@jareddudley4380]

A perfect recipe for Nirvana is pure, silencing, serene mountain snow. The "cut loose from purpose" enabled his perception of simple, magical, "unaffected" beauty. The waitresses natural humor, the not so crazy fry cook producing a particularly good meal, clean pleasant laughs from the dishwasher.

[@michaelrupf776]

Anything is a poem is you are not dead.

[@jasoncoker1625]

❤

[@canieslamers1736]

totally

[@flowersofthefield340]

❄️❄️❄️❄️❄️❄️❄️❄️❄️❄️❄️❄️❄️

[@KhayelihlePhungula-ix9yl]

My muse Charles where can I get this soundtrack

[@pierrethuresson2754]

I can´t belive it... This is the stuff that would give a man the nobel price in litteratur. But what do we get?

[@patchentews5676]

background music is too loud

[@Phonetician_]

What is the name of background music?

[@winstonwright853]

Max Richter -part 5

[@Phonetician_]

@@winstonwright853 thank a lot

[@invictusmaneo464]

Ty tvoje "myšlenky"... Vždycky pobavíš.

[@Beyazinsahibi]

Is the machinist, time?

[@gelizdesta728]

the music behind is not good.

[@Sai-jw8og]

🥹

[@redtobertshateshandles]

The f......g music??

[@bunnyr4690]

sound is crap

[@Lili-Benovent]

I hope nobody is foolish enough to regard this rubbish as poetry, it's not even a good children's story, there's no meaning to it. Bukowski was an arrogant fake but I understand that it's trendy to pretend to like his meaningless ramblings.

[@ivan-astral]

tell us what poetry is, give us an example.

[@Lili-Benovent]

@@ivan-astral OK, FOREVER LOST - Lili I sat upon a lonely beach, watched the gulls and crabs devour The remains of one large man, no clothes, no eyes, one hand As I enjoyed the morning sun, the waves had washed him clean I lazed there for a little while and then began to dream And wondered of his story, his sad demise upon the sand. - I slowly woke when day had cooled and found I wasn’t alone A Spectre sat at my right side and smiled at my surprise I was a wanderer he said, a Tramp, a Sailor wild And I pray the sea will take me and scatter all my bones I’ll tell the story of my murder, no profit now in lies For I was just a Gypsy, stolen from my tribe as child. - Sunken deep within the mire of crime, four lads with time to kill And kill we did whenever, we found the chance of coin The guilty and the innocent, none spared or conscience felt The hand of Satan on my shoulder, the tempest in my loins But treachery’s around us all and treachery was dealt When I stole within the clan, a wench I didn’t own.- I lost my eyes, I lost my hand, I’m destined now to roam The lonely shore for evermore, no life, no friends, no hand He wandered back to where his form lay rotting on the sand Sometimes I hear a wailing, from that Spectre in the foam He cannot see, he can’t be free, his anger, hate demand The death of any stranger who happens by his home. - The beach looks so inviting for swimmers to its shore Currents deep and fast, take the unwary to the deep Every Summer takes its toll, the Spectre calls for more The warning signs upon the sand, only tempt the brave Dragged out to sea among the fish, reward eternal sleep There’ll be no sleep for the vagabond, the sand his lonely grave. KENSINGTON AVE Lili Banished to the outer reaches I peer in from the bitter cold I see the warmth and reverie Afforded to the fold Hardship brings experience That opens up the mind Camaraderie with desperates The fold will never find They'll never walk the hard felt mile In shoes all filled with holes The end's the same for all of us No empathy, no soul. De’ja’Vu Lili The three lives lived of mortal man, each with a different view The feeling that you felt today, so strong and not misplaced You know that person, you know that place, you’ve felt the De’ja’Vu You also know that if approached, a blank stare on their face Would leave you asking if you’re sane, you turn your head away You know you’re sane, you know the scene, confusion is at play. - The more you think the more you’re lost but it’s all a part of fate It’s then you need hypnosis deep, the magick Mandrake root The Peyote and the incantations will bring your past life back You may not like what you may find, Black forbidden fruit Or past loves that you still love, revenge left lost and black If knowing is your only goal, the truth is absolute. - But if you want to immerse your soul in joining once again The people and the places lost you risk your present life You’ve only three and they won’t mix, you’ll only bring the pain The cards of life will not be shuffled thus, complications rife De’ja’Vu’s a two edged sword you’ll avoid if you accept The pleasures in the knowing and all it does contain. - But what of when you are approached, told by strangers to your side That you were part of their past life, Oh so long ago? The circle turns, you can’t recall, they are sure, they know that you have died You see the questions within their minds, you were called a different name A riddle to be pondered as you follow life’s slow flow. There are many more.

[@swallowprompt1373]

Full of story details in a poetic way

[@nooshinkhalili7277]

❤