What a wonderful world it would be
If we could pay rent with poetry
.
There’s nothing to write. I’m hung up by the balls. The stories come back as fast as I can write them. Of course, I land with poems. But you can’t pay rent with poems…. First check in 2 months today — a lousy $50, story for a dirty magazine…. Hal, I’m down. Can’t write.
~ Letter from Charles Bukowski to Harold Norse (excerpt), September 15, 1970.
.
What a wonderful world it would be
If we could pay rent with poetry
If we all had enough food to eat
If we all had a warm bed to sleep
If we all had shelter from life’s storm
If we were all protected from harm
What a wonderful world it would be
If we could pay rent with poetry
If we could all watch the setting sun
Resting after our day’s work is done
If we met with kind words and smiles
As we walk the roads of life’s long miles
What a wonderful world it would be
If we could pay rent with poetry
.
_________
Note: Bukowski’s letter made me reflect on his daily life, and how much more writing he could have given us if he’d been able to pay rent with poems. Then I imagined one possibility for such a world…the result is my poem, above.
Thank you, as always, for reading.
_________
Pay rent with poetry….man, I would be homeless! 😉
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Haha! 🙂 I believe you underestimate your talents!
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A nice thought.
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Thank you. Maybe it exists somewhere in a parallel universe. 🙂
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Lucky buggers!
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Indeed! 🙂
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Oh, Danica. In a perfect world…
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Yes. 🙂 Maybe we’ll be motivated to try it sometime… perhaps after a nuclear armageddon or such….
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Meet me at the end of the world…
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Beautiful! An excellent title… to something… as well. 🙂
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Yes indeed … what a wonderful life it would be … I’d start writing poems once again … g
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So glad you agree! Do you happen to have any poems kicking around? They’d probably go nicely with your photographs…. 🙂
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First and last month’s rent
paid for by this great haiku
a cool idea
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Perfect! Well done. 🙂
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🙂
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“Hey babe, you’re short. Better get me another stanza, pronto.”
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Haha 🙂 I’ll have to get on that!
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You certainly deserve to pay rent (and have some disposable income) with your wonderful writing, Danica. I hope it happens for you. The closest I came to making money from poetry was during elementary school. I used to write poems…well, more like rhyming verse, but it counted…and I compiled all of them into a “book” called “Show ‘Em A Poem.” I tried selling them in school for $.10 each but no one was interested. One jerk, though, gave me a dime for one just so he could rip it up in front of me. The end results were: he got to be a jerk (and probably still is) and I became a paid poet. 😀
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Thanks very much, Rich! I suppose anything is possible…. 🙂
Rhyming verse absolutely counts! I like your title too — creative and clever. The kid who bought it just to tear it up in front of you is probably writing his own rhyming verse in prison.
Congrats on being a paid poet! Do you happen to have any of these verses? They’d make a great feature or addition to your blog.
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That’s an interesting letter. Norse is one of my favorite poets.
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It is, isn’t it? An intimate snapshot of the relationship between two literary greats. Looking at their work, the struggles aren’t visible. Norse is wonderful.
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Yes, he is.
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Reblogged this on Art by Rob Goldstein and commented:
from Living a Beautiful Life
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Thank you for reblogging, Rob! 🙂
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I once bought a packet of donuts with money from music. Not quite rent, but lunch was sorted 😉
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What a fantastic milestone! Those were probably extra delicious donuts. Congratulations. 🙂
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They were pretty good, I have to admit!
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Music donuts, it doesn’t get much better than that!
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I really loved this poem! What a wonderful universe you’ve painted in my head 🙂
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Thank you very much! I really appreciate your kind comment. 🙂
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That would be simply WONDERFUL!!!!!!!! 🙂
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Wouldn’t it, though? So glad you agree! 🙂
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Yes yes.
Follow me so we can read each other . If you wanr of course 😉
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It would happen in a utopia for sure… eloquent…
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Perhaps one day… thank you. 🙂
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