Are there any plants, flowers, trees, shrubs, etc that anyone can point me to that are mentioned in Bukowski’s poetry specifically? My students are on a search. Thanks for any help!
it is only when
that life
ruined
becomes ours
we realize
then
that the suicides, the
drunkards, the mad, the
jailed, the dopers
and etc. etc.
are just as common
a part of existence
as the gladiola, the
rainbow
the
hurricane
and nothing
left
on the kitchen
shelf.
some guy keeps coming over
telling me how good bondage is:
“you tie them into the leather,
they’re completely helpless
then you can piss on them.
you want it and they want
it. it’s great. the growing of
the gladiola.”
a horn blows a tired
summer like a gladiola given up and leaning against a
house and
the bottles we have emptied would strangle the
sensibilities ... of God
[...]
I do not know how much longer I can
last
but I keep thinking
ow! my god!
the
gladiola will straighten hard and
full of
color like an
arrow pointing at the
sun
Christ will shudder like
marmalade