Why do some poets look so
bad? I mean have you checked
out the web images of Charles
Bukowski? I love the guy’s
poetry, but then I wonder
if life had to be so hard
as revealed in that face
in order to write really
good poetry. And Jim Har-
rison? Holy Cow! Looks like
ten generations of depressed
Swedes crammed into seventy-
eight years. Lots of smoking,
lots of drinking. They both
had lots of wrinkles and lots
of hair. The old question
goes, “Have you ever seen a
bald head at an AA meeting?”
Seems there’s a link between
alcoholism and keeping hair.
I wonder if there is a link
between drinking huge quan-
tities of alcohol and writ-
ing good poetry? I look in
the mirror — what little
hair is there is clipped down
to #1 and really not too many
wrinkles for a septuagenarian.
Maybe if I got a bottle of
Rogaine and a bottle of vodka
and a pack of Chesterfields,
like my dad used to smoke,
I could write poetry like
those two. Do they still make
Chesterfields?