Kinky Friedman said, “Find what you like and let it kill you.”
The title of this piece, “Find What You Love, and Let It Kill You,” is taken from a popular quote misattributed to Charles Bukowski, the renowned German-American poet. In reality, the original quote belongs to the singer Kinky Friedman, with the word “like” instead of “love.”
Word on the net is, the quote came from one of Bukowski’s letters. It’s unverified and most likely fake, but I nevertheless find the words beautiful.
The letter goes like this:
“My dear,
Find what you love and let it kill you. Let it drain from you your all. Let it cling onto your back and weigh you down into eventual nothingness. Let it kill you, and let it devour your remains.
For all things will kill you, both slowly and fastly, but it’s much better to be killed by a lover.
Falsely yours, Henry Charles Bukowski.”
That “falsely yours” at the end says it all. This isn’t Bukowski, and whoever wrote it should’ve given themself some credit instead of stealing the poet’s name. Kudos for writing this piece, whoever you are, but shame for the misattribution.
