The Laughing Heart
“your life is your life don’t let it be clubbed into dank submission. be on the watch. there are ways out. there is light somewhere. it may not be much light but it beats the darkness. be on the watch. the gods will offer you chances. know them. take them. you can’t beat death but you can beat death in life, sometimes. and the more often you learn to do it, the more light there will be. your life is your life. know it while you have it. you are marvelous the gods wait to delight in you.”
“The Laughing Heart” is one of Bukowski’s most hopeful and inspiring poems, a departure from his typically grittier work. Published in 1992, just two years before his death, the poem speaks to resilience and self-determination in the face of life’s challenges.
Bukowski reminds us that even in our darkest moments, we retain agency over our lives. The repeated phrase “your life is your life” serves as both the opening and a central reminder — a declaration of ownership over one’s existence and the possibilities it contains.