My opium den

 

My opium den

 

 

Complete darkness engulfs my universe

Deafening silence

As far as I can see, as far as I know

I am alone. Life as we know it, is reborn

 

I light a candle. I light another

I see the flame flicker and dance in expectation

I see the whicker whisper to the flame:

“Come take me away. Make me yours, tonight”

The burning embrace casts my shadow on the ceiling

Cast its light on my face as I stand I awe

Bewildered by the attraction to fire

For everything it symbolizes

For millennia

For humanity

 

I stand frozen in time

And for just a second, I am alive, forever

 

I open up to primeval instincts

Sandalwood, again, like there ever was a choice

Respectfully, I hold it to the flame

With compassion, a light kiss

And the three of us become one

 

Its sweet fragrance dances its way to my nostrils

Somehow, magically, mystically

It always does, it never fails

I see the amber, the smoke arise

Snarling and swirling toward me

Like a lover embracing me in her gown

She fills my nostrils

Slowly, she oozes her way into my lungs

I inhale her, deep and slowly

I fill my lungs with her, never wanting her to leave me

I am forever her slave, her servant

 

Music starts coming through in the background

Like a wave from far, far away in the ocean

Slowly making its way to the shore

It picks me up, lifts me up

Gently carries me away

Back out to sea where there is no rescue

With its slow beat, bass rhythm, emancipating pulse

It wraps around my mind and seals every crack

With fire and smoke

 

The parallels to the opium dens are striking

Same pose, same movement, same pace

I give complete surrender to the assault on my senses

I bear no arms, long laid down

Only surrender, complete and utter

A clean high stabilizes a wobbly balance in life