one learns

"one learns to endure because not to endure
turns the world over to them
and they are less than
zero.

to endure means to simply gut-it-out
and the worse the odds
the more enjoyable the
victory.

they say you must fight for your
freedom.
I know that.
only I didn’t fight the Japanese, the Italians, the Germans
or the Russians
for my freedom.
I fought Americans: the parents, the school yards,
the bosses, the ladies of the street, the friends, the
system
itself.

there’s no end, of course, to the fight.
new difficulties arrive like a train on time.
it may no longer be the hangover morning or the
factory assembly line
but treachery, deceit, and false hope take their
place.
I believe we are tested even as we
sleep, and often it all gets so deadly
we can only laugh it away.

to endure takes some luck, some knowledge and a
reasonable sense of
humour because the cold have gotten colder,
the strong stronger,
the once-bold less-bold and
all that’s left for us is
to consider the way
the elephant stands silent in the forest waiting to die,
the way men fail again and again,
the way the priest forgets his prayers,
the way love can turn to folly,
or the way the cold rain soaks Mozart’s
grave. it’s in spite of these and
so many other things that
one learns finally how to
endure."

Charles Bukowski, "one learns"