wants to get out
but I'm too tough for him,
I say, stay in there, I'm not going
to let anybody see you.
...I only let him out
at night sometimes
when everybody's asleep.
...he's singing a little
in there, I haven't quite let him
die
...and it's nice enough to
make a man
weep, but I don't
weep,do
you?" - Meaning and context.">
Bluebird

there's a bluebird in my heart that
wants to get out
but I'm too tough for him,
I say, stay in there, I'm not going
to let anybody see you.
...I only let him out
at night sometimes
when everybody's asleep.
...he's singing a little
in there, I haven't quite let him
die
...and it's nice enough to
make a man
weep, but I don't
weep,do
you?

— Charles Bukowski

What It Means

This is a placeholder explanation generated by the low-overhead model. It interprets "there's a bluebird in my heart that
wants to get out
but I'm too tough for him,
I say, stay in there, I'm not going
to let anybody see you.
...I only let him out
at night sometimes
when everybody's asleep.
...he's singing a little
in there, I haven't quite let him
die
...and it's nice enough to
make a man
weep, but I don't
weep,do
you?" in the context of "Bluebird" to mean that wisdom is timeless.

Source: Wikiquote: "Charles Bukowski" (Quotes: listed chronologically, The Last Night of the Earth Poems (1992)) The 'What it means' explanation text was generated by Google Gemini Flash (accessed January 18, 2026). https://gemini.google.com/app
Charles Bukowski

About Charles Bukowski

Charles Bukowski (16 August 1920 – 9 March 1994) was a Los Angeles, California poet and novelist sometimes mistakenly associated with Beat Generation writers because of alleged similarities of style and attitude. Bukowski's writing was heavily influenced by the geography and atmosphere of his home city of Los Angeles. He wrote more than fifty books and countless smaller pieces. He is often mentioned as an influence by contemporary authors and his style is frequently imitated.