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Charles Bukowski - I Can`t Stay In The Same Room With That Woman For Five Minutes
Work rating: Low

I went over the other day 
to pick up my daughter. 
her mother came out with workman’s 
overalls on. 
I gave her the child support money 
and she laid a sheaf of poems on me by one 
Manfred Anderson. 
I read them. 
he’s great, she said. 
does he send this shit out? I asked. 
oh no, she said, Manfred wouldn’t do that. 
why? 
well, I don’t know exactly. 
listen, I said, you know all the poets who 
don’t send their shit out. 
the magazines aren’t ready for them, she said, 
they’re too far advanced for publication. 
oh for christ’s sake, I said, do you really 
believe that? 
yes, yes, I really believe that, she 
answered. 
look, I said, you don’t even have the kid ready 
yet. she doesn’t have her shoes on. can’t you 
put her shoes on? 
your daughter is 8 years old, she said, 
she can put her own shoes on. 
listen, I said to my daughter, for christ’s sake 
will you put your shoes on? 
Manfred never screams, said her mother. 
OH HOLY JESUS CHRIST! I yelled 
you see, you see? she said, you haven’t changed. 
what time is it? I asked. 
4:30. Mandred did submit some poems once, she said, 
but they sent them back and he was terribly 
upset. 
you’ve got your shoes on, I said to my daughter, 
let’s go. 
her mother walked to the door with us. 
have a nice day, she said. 
fuck off, I said. 
when she closed the door there was a sign pasted to 
the outside. it said: 
SMILE. 
I didn’t. 
we drove down Pico on the way in. 
I stopped outside the Red Ox. 
I’ll be right back, I told my daughter. 
I walked in, sat down, and ordered a scotch and 
water. over the bar there was a little guy popping in and 
out of a door holding a very red, curved penis 
in his hand. 
can’t 
can’t you make him stop? I asked the barkeep. 
can’t you shut that thing off? 
what’s the matter with you, buddy? he asked. 
I submit my poems to the magazines, I said. 
you submit your poems to the magazines? he asked. 
you are god damned right I do, I said. 
I finished my drink and got back to the car. 
I drove down Pico Boulevard. 
the remainder of the day was bound to be better.
Source
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