Charles Bukowski Quotes

I would be married, but I'd have no wife, I would be married to a single life.

I'm not dead yet, just in a state of rapid decay, who isn't?

love needs too much help, he said.hate takes care of itself.

as a childi supposei was not quitenormal.my happiest times werewheni was left alone inthe house on asaturday.

I am sick with caring.

well, death says, as he walks by, I'm going to get you anyhow no matter what you've been: writer, cab-driver, pimp, butcher, sky-diver, I'm going to get you

The old gal was only another lonely creature in a world that didn’t care

my poems are only bits of scratchingon the floor of acage.

Animals are inspirational. They don’t know how to lie. They are natural forces.

There is a blue bird in my heart that wants to get out.

The total ugliness and indifference of the worst features of the human race come out in their driving habits.

good weatheris likegood women—it doesn’t always happenand when it doesit doesn’talways last.

the gods play nofavorites.

Potential, " I said, "doesn't mean a thing. You've got to do it. Almost every baby in a crib has more potential than I have.

the gods seldomgivebut so quicklytake.

beware women grownoldwho were neveranything butyoung

for meobedience to another is the decay of self.for though every being is similareach being is differentand to herd our differencesunder one lawdegrades each self.

the courage it took to get out of bed eachmorningto face the same thingsover and overwasenormous.

that your power of commandwith simple language wasone of the magnificent things ofour century.(from the poem: result)

Finally there is nothing here for death to take away.

La mayoría de la muerte de la gente es una farsa, no queda en ellos nada que pueda morir

of one hundred movies there's one that is fair, one that's good and ninety eight that are very bad. most movies start badly and steadily get worse

I am too sick to lay downthe sidewalks frighten methe whole damned city frightens me, what I will becomewhat I have becomefrightens me.

my gardenin the sun and in the rainand in the day and in the nightpain is a flowerpain is flowersblooming all the time.

My heart is a thousand years old. I am not like other people.

Existence was not only absurd, it was plain hard work. Think of how many times you put on your underwear in a lifetime. It was appalling, it was disgusting, it was stupid.

I drive around the streetsan inch away from weeping, ashamed of my sentimentality andpossible love.

If something burns your soul with purpose and desire, it’s your duty to be reduced to ashes by it. Any other form of existence will be yet another dull book in the library of life.

you shoulda known the entirety of the trap, a**hole, love means eventual painvictory means eventual defeatgrace means eventual slovenliness, there's no wayout...you see, youunderstand?

I wish to weepbut sorrow isstupid.I wish to believebut belief is agraveyard.

it does seemthe more we drinkthe better the wordsgo.

there is always one woman to save you from another and as that woman saves you she makes ready to destroy

when I am feelinglowall i have to do iswatch my catsand mycouragereturns

Life wore a man out, wore a man thin.Tomorrow would be a better day.

I´ve given you my time. Its all I´ve got to give - its all any man has. And for a pitiful buck and a quarter an hour.

my 6 foot goddessmakes me laughthe laughter of the mutilatedwho still needlove...she has saved mefrom everything that isnot here

There's a light somewhere.It may not be much light butit beats the darkness.

Most so-called brave people lack imagination. As though they can’t conceive of what would happen if something went wrong. The truly brave overcome their imagination and do what they have to do.

If you have the ability to love, love yourself first.

Dying should come easy:like a freight train youdon't hear whenyour back isturned.

the people are the biggesthorror show on earth, have been forcenturies.

she wasn't veryinterestingbut few peopleare.

the price of creationis nevertoo high.the price of livingwith other peoplealwaysis.

the world is better withoutthem.only the plants and the animals aretrue comrades.I drink to them and withthem.

I didn't know if I was unhappy. I felt too miserable to be unhappy.

Why did I come here? I thought. Why is it always only a matter of choosing between something bad and something worse?

the best part waspulling down theshadesstuffing the doorbellwith ragsputting the phonein therefrigeratorand going to bedfor 3 or 4days. and the next bestpartwasnobody evermissedme.

Her one drink had Cecelia giggling and talking and she was explaining that animals had souls too. Nobody challenged her opinion. It was possible, we knew. What we weren't sure of was if we had any.

and our few good times will be rare because we have the critical senseand are not easy to fool with laughter

nothing can save you except writing. it keeps the walls from failing.