POR AMOR AL ARTE

Jon surprised me today with three doodles, soemthing he hadn't done in years after he picked music as his artform of choice. As a boy he was a great cartoonist in school and I have several of his doodles framed that are timeless. But these really blew me away. How lucky to have an artistic descendant; someone who understands the pseudo-madness it involves, the humor, the pent up anger, the social responsibility, the urge, the need, the duty to see underneath the surface of things.

Bluebird
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?

BUKOWSKI