TAKANAWA PRINCE HOTEL BAR

Slipping down into the Pure Land

into the Awakened State of Drunk

into the furnace blue Heart of the

one one one true Allah the Beloved

Companion of Dangerous Moods -

Slipping down into the 27 Hells

of my own religion my own sweet

dark religion of drunk religion

my bended knee of Poetry my robes

my bowl my scourge of Poetry

my final circumcision after

the circumcision of the flesh

and the circumcision of the heart

and the circumcision of the yearning

to Return to be Redeemed

to be Washed to be Forgiven Again

the Final Circumcision the Final

and Great Circumcision -

Broken down awhile

and cowarding

in the blasting rays

of Hideous Enlightenment

but now finally surrendered to the Great

Resignation of Poetry

and not the kind of Wise Experience

or the false kisses of Competitive

Insight, but my own sweet dark

religion of Poetry my booby prize

my sandals and my shameful prayer

my invisible Mexican candle

my useless oils to clean the house

and remove my rival's spell

on my girlfriend's memory -

O Poetry my Final Circumcision:

All the pain was in fearing

and ignoring the girl's voice

and the girl's touch and the girl's

fragrant humbling girlishness

which was lost three wars ago -

And O my love I love you again

I am your dog your cat

your Cleopatran snake

I am bleeding painlessly

from the Final Formless Circumcision

as I push up your dress a little way

and kiss your miraculously

lactating knee

And may all of you who watch

and G-d forbid!

are in a suffering predicament

as I go sliding down to Love -

may you speedily be embraced by

the girlishness of your own

dark girlish religion