in the Valkerie Mountains
among the strutting peacocks
I found a flower
as large as my
head
and when I reached in to smell
it
I lost an earlobe
part of my nose
one eye
and half a pack of
cigarettes.
I came back
the next day
to hack the damned thing
down
but found it so
beautiful I
killed a
peacock instead.

-C Bukowski

A powerful and vivid poem capturing the raw essence of human nature and our conflicting impulses. Bukowski's words resonate with a brutal honesty that cuts deep into the complexities of desire, beauty, and destruction. An intense reflection on the destructive yet irresistible allure of beauty.