~Garden of Wonder and Delight~ - December 17, 1997 Let the starlite stream down upon us Shining beauty through the warm mist of my heart Feeling more wonderful as I approach the garden Lay your compassion hand upon me and fill me with love fuzz Caress the last glimpse of reality that we will know Pay your respects; then attend the show Believe me when I say they're empty Trust me when I have a plan In our mind, we know I'm lonely But upon me you lay a starlight hand The starlight ruby tries to shine Local emptiness drowns out her splendor Ignorant fairies and bums they are, tending only to their fecal matter Craving oblivion, desiring abyss, wanting more than anything To be nothing Precious few are the things which bring bliss Like the rarity of a long calm drive down a cool midnight highway And rare are the days when she is allowed to shine, "Yes," says she, "I am talking to myself." For once, to be allowed to draw the curtain of ecstasy For once, let me be lost at sea Let me visit my heaven for it's all I can bear Let me lay upon the mosses of the starlight forest Let me cry to the tune of the water which runs from me Let the river of compassion flow from my heart into yours I beg you to know me from the inside How far can the sailboat be? I, the captain, await the vessel to which there will be no first mate The crew was lost among the strawberries No longer do I have the sunny place No longer do I see his face Few remnants do I have to remember my lord after all these years Still remains of fond love given Shattered hopes of dream never to come Fantasies of wealth to remain bedridden All there is is compassion bleeding for you beings Things which I try harder to look after Harder to maintain than the slithy Todestul Even by the music makers Even by the dreamers of dreams For "we" are not a normal people And we are foul leeches upon a graceful earth The shining sun is waning The setting sun will summon Kali I will again see my sister I will as well see my lover The few true beings, those who hold within their hearts a gem Together we will share the wondrous starlight kingdom The destination, the destiny. "There" is wherever your real mind will take you Your mind, which is the only constant in real reality That which you know to be real is an illusion And all those who live are eluded Even those of us who have chosen to be true Innocence has been sacrificed to the maggots.. Man is brutal, violent, ugly and ungraceful... the gods as well as I.. wish to end this I beg you to do nothing but hold me, tell me how you love me Tell me I am loved Warmth and love are cherished Relished as things uncommon To those of us who know it origin and reality Larvae becomes fly Crayon becomes butterfly In the true artists' mind, beauty is out there True loveliness is a rarity Loneliness is commonplace "I'd like it in a paper bag, please." I beckon you I beg you I ask of you I pray to you I plead with you I bleed with you Let us unlock our bridge across the lake of fire And we shall sit upon a throne We shall inhale the cool mists around us Admire the starlight which impales the fog And be held in bliss As we rule the abyss. Katrina Kidwell Johnson