Charles Bukowski
The Genius of the Crowd
The genius of the crowd
There is enough treachery, hatred, violence, absurdity
In the average human being
To supply any given army on any given day

And the best at murder are those who preach against it
And the best at hate are those who preach love
And the best at war, finally, are those who preach peace

Beware the average man, the average woman
Beware their love
Their love is average
Seeks average

But there is genius in their hatred
There's enough genius in their hatred to kill you, to kill anybody
Not wanting solitude
Not understanding solitude
They will attempt to destroy anything that differs from their own

Not being able to create art
They will not understand art
They will consider their failure as creators only as a failure of the world

Not being able to love fully
They will believe your love incomplete
And then, they will hate you
And their hatred will be perfect
Like a shining diamond
Like a knife
Like a mountain
Like a tiger
Like hemlock
Their finest art