Beer Break: A Poem (and Pale Ale) We All Need Right Now

Welcome to another installment in an occasional series I call “Beer Break.” It’s a pause, a respite, a recess from the time and energy I typically spend on entries for “A Fan’s Notes,” which is now at 30 posts since I launched it in February 2024.

Unlike my usual lengthy commentaries, “Beer Break” is more of a vignette in which I pithily pay tribute to a favorite drink, quote, song, poem—or multiple items if I can find some way to connect them, which is what I’m doing today—rather than diving deeply into a topic.

Let’s start with the beer. My beverage of choice for this latest break is Upslope Brewing’s Mary Jane Ale, a perfectly balanced and tasty pale ale named after the famous ski territory at Winter Park Resort.

There’s no real reason for selecting Mary Jane other than I’m a huge fan of it. In my decade of living here, it’s become my favorite Colorado brew, and I love having one (or several) for après, whether it’s after a day on the slopes, a long hike, or, really, any occasion at all—like finishing a blog.

Now, onto the poem.

The passage I’m celebrating is something I’m a fan of, too. It’s a Charles Bukowski poem called “The Laughing Heart.”

Sandy introduced it to me a while back when she shared a video of legendary singer-songwriter Tom Waits reading the short verse. (Waits is a future subject for “A Fan’s Notes.”)

I immediately became a fan of both the poem, which I hadn’t read before, and Waits’ recitation of it, which is heartfelt and lovely.

Here’s the clip. The poem is below it so you can follow along.

your life is your life
don’t let it be clubbed into dank submission.
be on the watch.
there are ways out.
there is a 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.

-Charles Bukowski

“That’s a beauty,” Waits says afterward.

A-fucking-men, sir.

I chose this poem because the world has grown more chaotic and contentious, more depressing and dark, and amid these troubling times, I needed this message. This poem reminds us that despite the darkness, there is a light somewhere.

And that Bukowski line reminds me why I started “A Fan’s Notes” a year and a half ago and why I continue writing these blogs.

I want to shine a light on the good that exists. I want to celebrate amazing art, be it a song or book, film or TV show, poem or painting. And I want everyone, myself included, to prevent our lives from being clubbed into dank submission.

It’s why I paid tribute to “The Laughing Heart” today. And it’s why I’ll continue praising anything that helps lift humans out of darkness by showing us a little light.

Thanks, as always, for reading. Before I venture off on a short break, I hope you’ll join me for a toast across the miles—no matter where you are or what’s in your glass.

I raise my pint of Mary Jane Ale and leave you with the poem’s closing words, which all of us probably need to hear once again:

You are marvelous, the gods wait to delight in you.

Cheers.

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