Wednesday, August 13, 2008

Commune / Commute

"drive through hell"
by charles bukowski

the people are weary, unhappy, frustrated, the people are
bitter and vengeful, the people are deluded and fearful, the
people are angry and uninventive
and I drive among them on the freeway and they project
what is left of themselves in their manner of driving—
some more hateful, more thwarted than others—
some don't like to be passed, some attempt to keep others
from passing
—some attempt to block lane changes
—some hate cars of a newer, more expensive model
—others in these cars hate the older cars.

the freeway is a circus of cheap and petty emotions, it's
humanity on the move, most of them coming from some place
they
hated and going to another they hate just as much or
more.
the freeways are a lesson in what we have become and
most of the crashes and deaths are the collision
of incomplete beings, of pitiful and demented lives.

when I drive the freeways I see the soul of humanity of
my city and it's ugly, ugly, ugly: the living have choked the
heart
away.

4 comments:

M@ said...

Funny, I just discovered this guy last week when someone compared my post to his writing.

Have you read my uncle's book yet? Slacker....

M@ said...

This is very timely for me. I have been doing so well in terms of mental health and have been walking around w/ a smile on my face everywhere and have been so aware of my behavior and eager to be a positive influence on the world.

But in one split second, I lose my temper and give the finger to an old man b/c he gets in my way as I attempt to wreak vengeance on the black guy driving his black guy car: a large sedan with automatic transmission that glides effortlessly across lanes.

He ignores me with his cataract shades and I am ashamed as the woman behind me meets my eyes in the mirror.

M@ said...

I used to work as a speech writer for the DOT. You probably know that there are traffic engineers who've studied every bit of traffic but there are also psychologists who've made this a science for decades. We're so predictable.

Anonymous said...

I imagine now would be a really bad time to mention I am telecommuting today, huh?

The guy driving too slow in front of you is a jerk and they guy driving too fast behind you is a maniac. We are in our own little worlds, separated from humanity behind the wheel. We think, say and do things we would never do face to face.
~BPP