It’s interesting that I happened to stumble upon this late last night…

Charles Bukowski (my favorite poet) penned The Crunch in 1977.  This was year I was born.

It was then republished in 1999.  This was the year I graduated college.

Both seem long ago, yet in a relative span of years, they are not…

I thought even though it’s not one of my all-time favorite poems (it’s not even relatively known to most people — possibly even Bukowski fans), it was still unique & worth remembering. Especially since it changed over time.

Much like I have.

I thought it was perfect that the website I linked to showed the changes in each iteration of the poem as it published, (including subsequent versions) which is why I showed it from there.  It wouldn’t have the same effect just cutting & pasting them all in here or linking from another site.

To actually see the changes offset from version to version is pretty powerful. [Just click the highlight changes “on” at the top of the page & you’ll see what I mean].

An amazing poem, in all of the versions & iterations.

I’m glad I stumbled upon it.