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Go All the Way – Charles Bukowski

If you’re going to try,

go all the way.

Otherwise,

don’t even start.

This could mean losing girlfriends,

wives,

relatives

and maybe even your mind.

It could mean not eating

for three or four days.

It could mean freezing

on a park bench.

It could mean

jail.

It could mean derision.

It could mean mockery

— isolation.

Isolation is the gift.

All the others are a test

of your endurance,

of how much you really want to do it.

And,

you’ll do it,

despite rejection

and the worst odds.

And it will be better than

anything else you can imagine.

If you’re going to try,

go all the way.

There is no other feeling like that.

You will be alone

with the gods,

and the nights will flame with fire.

You will ride life straight

to perfect laughter.

It’s the only good fight there is.