In Praise of Self-Deprecation by Wislawa Szymborska

The buzzard has nothing to fault himself with.

Scruples are alien to the black panther.

Piranhas do not doubt the rightness of their actions.

The rattlesnake approves of himself without reservations.

The self-critical jackal does not exist.

The locust, alligator, trichina, horsefly

live as they live and are glad of it.

The killer whale’s heart weighs one hundred kilos

but in other respects it is light.

There is nothing more animal-like

than a clear conscience

on the third planet of the Sun.

sunday before noon by Charles Bukowski

spinach, Gabriel

all fall down,

all fall down and blow,

barbados, barbados,

where are yr toes?

the branches break, the birds fall, the buildings burn,

the whores stand straight,

the bombs stack,

evening, morning, night,

peanutbutter,

peanutbutter falcons,

rain breathing like lilies from the top of my head,

pincers pincers

kisses like steel clamps

mouths full of moths,

hydra-headed cocksuckers,

Florida in full moon,

shark with mouthful of man

man with mouthful of peanutbutter, rain

rain peeking into the guts of grey hours,

horses dreaming of horses,

flowers dreaming of flowers, 

horses running with greyhour pieces of my lovely flesh,

bread burning, all Spain on fire and 

cities dreaming of craters,

bombs bigger than the brains of anything,

going down

are the clocks cocks roosters?

the roosters stand on the fence

the roosters are peanutbutter crowing,

the FLAME will be high, the flame will be big,

kiss kiss kiss

everything away,

I hope it rains today, I hope

the jets die, I hope

the kitten finds a mouse, I hope

I don't see it, I hope

it rains, I hope

anything away from here,

I hope a bridge, a fish, a cactus somewhere

strutting whiskers to the noon,

I dream flowers and horses

the branches break the birds fall the buildings 

burn, my whore walks across the room and

smiles at me.