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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.