"Let it enfold you" Analysis

In the beginning of Charles Bukowski poem, Bukowski states his recent understanding of life “either peace or happiness, let it enfold you”. And then proceeds with his past and tells us about how he viewed life before he accepted happiness. He mentions being bitter and being rebellious at a young age. Not trusting anyone, he would get in multiple fights and get in and out of jail. Bukowski found the negative and flaws on everything. He mentions several things he hates from babies to newspaper to the color orange. He doesn’t necessary has a reason to hate these random things however he hates them and he feels some sort of unique. But then he realizes that he is not any different from anyone else, especially those he encountered as a low life. In the poem he says, “The lie was the weapon and the plot was empty”, the life he was living was empty and didn’t have any purpose. It was an epiphany where he realized he didn’t see a future, hope, nor self fulfillment or satisfaction in the life he was living. This is where he “cautiously” enters a new life where he starts embracing good and happiness. “I found moments of peace in cheap rooms just staring at the knobs of some dresser or listening to the rain in the dark”, Bukowski is appreciating the small things in life and he is content. He feels worn out and thinks it is because of how he had been living. “I could never accept life as it was, I could never gobble down all its poisons but there parts, tenous magic parts open for the asking.”, he was always confused about life but could never embrace the good and never knew why.

“Something in me relaxed, smoothed out. I no longer had to prove that I was a man, I didn’t have to prove anything”, Bukowski was no longer struggling and fighting against life. He was indulging all the things he hated once and let all those things enfold on him making life a bit much simpler. He sees a mouse on his dresser and admires his “beautiful” eyes, once again he keeps attention to simplest things in life and he is left in awe of. His optimism is tested and passed as he mentions he was fired but feels good about it. “I walk onto the blazing sunshine. The whole day is mine temporarily, anyhow”, he finds the best in everything even after being fired. He feels that the world is angry and disillusioned (like he was once), however he is happy and “welcomes shots of peace”.

Before Bukowski lacked self respect and didn’t trust women and only used them, now he likes what he sees in the mirror and cares for his wife. “I kissed her in the, forehead, got down the stairway, got outside, got into my marvelous car, fixed the seatbelt, backed out the drive. Feeling warm to the fingertips, down to my foot on the gas pedal, I entered the world once more, drove down the hill” , Bukowski happily flows out of his house and takes on the world with a passive yet satisfactory state of mind and soul.