Daily Richard (Part Two)

Here is a Brautigan poem from “June 30th, June 30th”

Taking No Chances

I am part of it. No,
I am the total but there
is also a possibility
that I am only a fraction
of it.

I am that which begins
but has no beginning.
I am also full of shit
right up to my ears.

Tokyo / June 17, 1976

Brautigan, like so many of his contemporaries, played around with zen. I love the way he sniffs the rarefied air and then bangs hard against the reality of being human, all in eight and a half short lines.

The book isn't one of my favorites -- the stuff (with exceptions like the one above) doesn't have much of an edge to it. Most of the work in "June 30th, June 30th" feels monochromatic to me. The twinkle in Brautigan's eye is missing much of the time. Still a unique voice, though.

Tomorrow, Brautigan and baseball intersect. Right here!