Day 30: Bluebird

Here is an example of a poem that gets straight to the heart of things. Simple language, simple sentiment, powerful effect.

Bluebirds are usually a symbol of happiness (Somewhere over the Rainbow style), but here the bluebird represents the hidden emotional self, the feeling self, the vulnerable but beautiful best-kept-secret self that is the means to happiness sure enough, but more often than not, gets kept in a cage by the tough brave-faced self we present to the world. The perils of self-preservation, in other words.

Bukowski knew the pitfalls of it. And he puts it so simply and beautifully here, so we will too.

Bluebird - Charles Bukowski

there's a bluebird in my heart that
wants to get out
but I'm too tough for him,
I say, stay in there, I'm not going
to let anybody see
you.
there's a bluebird in my heart that
wants to get out
but I pour whiskey on him and inhale
cigarette smoke
and the whores and the bartenders
and the grocery clerks
never know that
he's
in there.

there's a bluebird in my heart that
wants to get out
but I'm too tough for him,
I say,
stay down, do you want to mess
me up?
you want to screw up the
works?
you want to blow my book sales in
Europe?
there's a bluebird in my heart that
wants to get out
but I'm too clever, I only let him out
at night sometimes
when everybody's asleep.
I say, I know that you're there,
so don't be
sad.
then I put him back,
but he's singing a little
in there, I haven't quite let him
die
and we sleep together like
that
with our
secret pact
and it's nice enough to
make a man
weep, but I don't
weep, do
you?