On Lighting A Cigar

[Keith418]

Is there a first appearance of this poem or a manuscript copy?

 

[pauldakiwi]

Per Abel DeBritto's incredible Bukowski guides, Every Piece of the Puzzle and A Catalog of Ordinary Madness, the poem dates from 8-9-1972 and appeared in What Matters Most is How Well You Walk Through the Fire (Black Sparrow Press - October 1999. That posthumous publication of the poem may have involved some editing by John Martin. There is a manuscript copy at UC-Santa Barbara.