Bluebird

there's a bluebird in my heart thatwants to get outbut I'm too tough for him,

I say, stay in there,

I'm not goingto let anybody seeyou.
there's a bluebird in my heart thatwants to get outbut I pour whiskey on him and inhalecigarette smokeand the whores and the bartendersand the grocery clerksnever know thathe'sin there.
there's a bluebird in my heart thatwants to get outbut I'm too tough for him,

I say,
stay down, do you want to messme up?
you want to screw up theworks?
you want to blow my book sales

Europe?
there's a bluebird in my heart thatwants to get outbut I'm too clever,

I only let him outat night sometimeswhen everybody's asleep.

I say,

I know that you're there,
so don't I put him back,
but he's singing a littlein there,

I haven't quite let himdieand we sleep together likethatwith oursecret pactand it's nice enough tomake a manweep, but I don'tweep, doyou?

This was published in Bukowski's book "The Last Night of the Earth Poems" circa 1992