Last night, while watching the movie Howl on Amazon Prime, memories of my time with Allen Ginsberg before his death in 1997 floated in and out of my consciousness.
I was excited and moved, particularly when first hearing his voice, and then seeing him at the end of the film. That’s the Allen I knew and loved. So, I wrote:
After a deeply
poetic baptism of
Ginsberg, Waldman, and the lot
within a Buddhist-founded
institution,
we surface for air
transitioning
into the external
world
exchanging
dialogue while
walking
to Dolan’s
sharing a meal over
awakened journeys
and the mundane
served with
kindness
insight
humor
and
breath.
Allen ate what he could—
already aware of his fate,
yet still excitedly desiring
the engaged moments
with a handful of
youthful participants.
His life lived
generously entwined
in the exploration of
the internal war
of mental madness and
authentic expression—
intellectuality,
emotionality,
sexuality,
spirituality,
humanity—
the artist exposed
without the constraints
of mainstream fear.
Wholly holy. Holy whole.
Today, gratitude and awe
are here with me,
reminding me, as Allen had.
Lovely
Thank you, Vicki!
Dear Lori, This is such a beautiful poem. I have actually had it in my inbox for more than a year and am just getting to it now (!) with the intent of letting you know how much I enjoyed reading it . I’m not familiar with any of Allen Ginsberg’s work but have, of course, heard of him and have read about him a bit. You did a healing session for me way back when in 2013, so I’ve been on your email list for all those years. I also write poetry, and I found your poem really beautifully expressed and wanted to let you know. Thank you for sharing it.
Time flies! Gratitude! Thank you for reading my blog and commenting!