Charles Bukowski

Some People

Some People - meaning Summary

Madness as Temporary Refuge

The speaker contrasts ordinary lives with his occasional retreats into self-imposed collapse, literally hiding behind the couch for days. When others discover him, their response mixes pity, ritual and buffoonery: naming him "Cherub," pouring wine, rubbing his chest and anointing him. The poem presents a compact portrait of private breakdown and the social script that follows—care, mockery and symbolic healing—leaving unclear whether rescue or spectacle prevails.

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Some people never go crazy. Me, sometimes I'll lie down behind the couch for 3 or 4 days. They'll find me there. "It's Cherub," they'll say, And they pour wine down my throat, rub my chest, sprinkle me with oils.

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