Charles Bukowski
Poems by Charles, Pt. 2
Buffalo Bill
Whenever the landlord and landlady get beer drunk
She comes down here and knocks on my door
and I go down and drink beer with them
They sing old-time songs and he keeps drinking until he falls over backwards in his chair
And I get up, tilt the chair up, and then he's back at the table again, grabbing at a beer can
The conversation always gets around to Buffalo Bill
They think Buffalo Bill is very funny
So I always ask, "What's new with Buffalo Bill?"
"Oh, he's in again, they locked him up. They came and got him."
"Why?"
"Same thing, only this time it was a woman from the Jehovah's witness. She rang his bell and was standing there talking to him and he showed her his thing, you know? She came down and told me about it and I told her 'Why did you bother that man? Why did you ring his bell? He wasn't doing anything to you,' But no, she- she had to go and tell the authorities. And uh, he phoned me from jail."
"Well I did it again,"
"Why do you keep doin' that?" I ask him
"I don't know," he said, "I don't know what made me do that."
"You shouldn't do that," I told him
"I know I shouldn't do that," He told me
"How many times has he done that?" I ask them
"Oh god I dunno, eight or ten times. He's always doin' it. He's got a good lawyer though, he's got a damn good lawyer."
"Who'd you rent his place to?"
"Oh— we don't rent his place, we always keep his place open for him. We like him."
"Did I tell you the night he was drunk and out on the lawn naked and an airplane went overhead and he pointed to the lights, all you could see was the taillights and stuff, and he pointed to the lights and yelled, "I am god I put those lights in the sky!"
"No, uh, you didn't tell me about that."
"Have a beer first and I'll tell you about it,"
I had a beer, first