Throwing Away the Alarm Clock by Charles Bukowski

My father always said, “early to bed and
early to rise makes a man healthy,

wealthy
and wise.”
it was lights out at 8 p.m. in our house

and we were up at dawn to the smell of
coffee,

frying bacon and scrambled
eggs.

my father followed this general routine
for a lifetime

and died young, broke,
and, I think, not too
wise.

taking note, I rejected his advice and it
became,

for me,

late to bed and late
to rise.

now, I’m not saying that I’ve conquered
the world

but I’ve avoided
numberless early traffic jams,

bypassed some
common pitfalls

and have met some strange,

wonderful
people

one of whom
was
myself–someone my father
never
knew

– Posted from my iPhone