The Man With the Beautiful Eyes - poem - Screening Shorts

the man with the beautiful eyeswhen we were kidsthere was a strangehouseall the shades werealwaysdrawnand we never heardvoicesin thereand the yard was full ofbambooand we liked to play inthe bamboopretend we wereTarzan(although there was noJane).and there was afish ponda large onefull of thefattest goldfishyou ever sawand they weretame.they came to thesurface of the waterand took pieces ofbreadfrom our hands.our parents hadtold us:“never go near thathouse.”so, of course,we went.we wondered if anybodylived there.weeks went by and wenever sawanybody.then one daywe hearda voicefrom the house“YOU GOD DAMNEDWHORE!”it was a man’svoice.then the screendoorof the house wasflung openand the manwalkedout.he was holding afifth of whiskeyin his righthand.he was about30.he had a cigarin hismouth,needed ashave.his hair waswild anduncombedand he wasbarefootin undershirtand pants.but his eyeswerebright.they blazedwith brightnessand he said,“hey littlegentlemen,having a goodtime, Ihope?”then he gave alittle laughand walkedback into thehouse.we left,went back to myparent’s yardand thoughtabout it.our parents,we decidedhad wanted usto stay awayfrom therebecause theynever wanted usto see a manlikethat,a strong naturalmanwithbeautifuleyes.our parentswere ashamedthat they werenotlike thatman,that’s why theywanted usto stayaway.butwe went backto that houseand the bambooand the tamegoldfish.we went backmany timesfor manyweeksbut we neversawor heardthe managain.the shades weredownas alwaysand it wasquiet.then one dayas we came back fromschoolwe saw thehouse.© British Film Institute 1 of 2

the man with the beautiful eyesit had burneddown,there was nothingleft,just a smolderingtwisted blackfoundationand we went tothe fish pondand there wasno waterin itand the fatorange goldfishwere deadthere,drying out.we went back tomy parents’ yardand talked aboutitand decided thatour parents hadburned theirhouse down,had killedthemhad killed thegoldfishbecause it wasall toobeautiful,even the bambooforest hadburned.andwe were afraidthenthatall through our livesthings like thatwouldhappen,that nobodywantedanybodyto bestrong andbeautifullike that,thatothers would neverallow it,and thatmany peoplewould have todie.they had beenafraid ofthe man with thebeautifuleyes.from The Last Night on Earth Poems byCharles Bukowski© 1992 Charles BukowskiUsed by permission of HarperCollins Publishers© British Film Institute 2 of 2