poetry

Harvest of Gems

"Let's go out," Summer said as she laced up her tall brown boots. "Let's just walk around," she added. I meekly obeyed. Who could resist this angel? Prague was untypically dark and cold on this particular night. Summer and I embraced each other as we walked to ward off the cold and to signal a new phase in our relationship. Old, old energies were coming up. We found a park bench and started our chatter puja. "I saw a blue-man in a dream just before you came," Summer announced. "I was waiting for you." I wanted to keep quiet. Summer's energy was so addictive. "Do you know that you're sick?" I worriedly asked. "Yes, I know this," Summer barked. "The doctors say I have a very good womb. They poked around in there and were pretty fascinated." She began leaning against me with all her weight; her head shot up into the sky with deep and secure satisfaction. I kissed Summer's hand. Her eyes were shut, but she smiled. Summer looked like a goddess in her dark green overcoat. Her head was wrapped in a scarf concealing all but a trickle of her red and thin young hair. I kissed her on the lips. "Don't, are you sure we should do this?" Summer hesitantly asked. "I want the experience," I confirmed. Summer's mouth pounced suddenly onto mine. Her entire body heaved in my direction. Summer had now made another partial surrender.
We went out for Chinese and talked late into the night.

Day Nine:
The Indians continued to play around. I took Summer to see the Josefov. We savored the intense energies of the Jewish black and white magicians. Summer peered into the cold rooms and heaved silently. She understood the energies, but felt they were unfamiliar. "They're unhealthy, I don't like them." She proclaimed. Sadness and fear clung to the old ghetto as Summer hunched her muscular neck. This was not her place. We both knew this. I sketched the tombstones onto paper with pastel butts and ripped up my work into shreds as an offering to the hungry locals. Summer sat nearby watching it all intently, but with an air of detachment. We looked at the hawkers milking the old Jewish past for all it was worth. And then we left. Summer took my hand and said: "Let's go to the Hrad." The Hrad, the seat of Czech government and the possible inspiration for Kafka's castle. Havel was now enthroned and the Golem was on vacation.
It was in front of St. Vitus cathedral that I almost collapsed. Summer touched my forehead with her own in an almost wild impulse and our energies began to fuse like an angry electric shock. I felt boundary loss as the Hrad's spirits laughed at me and my dilemma. I was finally discovering SUMMER. We sat down and started to neck. I kissed Summer's shoulder and licked her long and sturdy neck. Summer swooned and shut her eyes. "No, don't," she pushed away. "Not right now. I want to, but not right now." I stopped in disappointment. "I don't want to get confused," she firmly said, "and I don't want you to get confused." Her long bony and beautiful hands clasped my face. "Let's go home." The freeze had begun.

Day Ten:
Earth from outer space inside a dream:
The earth will cease to exist when the sun swells out in its dying phase and vaporizes this insignificant planet (we guess) about four or five billion years from now, long before the Universe ends (or begins again) Our little planet is turning jewel-like and vulnerable in its transparent skin. It is releasing tiny seeds into its own near space as a huddled figure with thumb stuck out flutters and flirts somewhere near Alabama.
I bought a new Olympus camera and contacted the Jordanians in Vienna. They said a visa could be had within twenty-four hours and it would cost nothing. The Indians were still stalling. How I despised them! I stayed away from Summer all day. A strange distance was growing and I was at a complete loss. Time was running out in Prague. I had to keep to my schedule. The Poles were waiting and my mission in Karlin was unfinished. I wondered aloud if Summer was a tulku. I walked around the Stare Mesto gulping in Czech misery. Bohemia had been a battle-ground for Germans and Czechs, Protestants and Catholics with "the poor Jews" caught in the middle. I felt DISSONANCE.
The white Stress was seeping in from Berlin. The violent energies were moving again. Where would the black demons slither out from this time? I felt CONFUSION. My mind and body ached with pains of withdrawal. Summer's energy was in me now. I had to release her poison and retain her nectar. Summer's boyfriend was manipulating the pause and creating a most terrible misunderstanding. We were rapidly sinking into a tension spiral. I felt exhausted and miserable.

Day Eleven:
I dreamed of an intruder breaking into a hotel and woke up in a cold sweat. The second day of COLD WAR sputtered on endlessly. I was beginning to have an aversion for Summer. I went to visit Kafka's grave, but got to the cemetery too late. I had to content myself with a peek from a distance through some iron railings. I asked Summer if she wanted to go out of Prague for a day. A castle called Konopiste seemed inviting. Summer refused and retreated in confusion. I disappeared into the night. The space had now become too small for the energies being released. A perturbation was needed to get Summer moving.

Day Twelve:
Two in the morning:
Summer's boyfriend started coughing in his sleep. Soon he was up; and started dragging Summer into the bathroom for one of their "night sessions." I asked Summer what was the matter. She seized the moment and jumped onto my bed. Her bare feet clung to the bedsheets as she squatted almost on top of me, taking my hand and grinning a wide Cheshire Cat smile. "Oh, it's just him you know. His father issues are coming up." Summer was wearing a white silk bathrobe underneath her partially bare bony chest. Her long white silk pants rested on my lap. Summer's face was covered in darkness, a faint light from the street ilhouetted her beautifully sculpted face. It was a strange face. One that could look long and thin or round and compact, depending on the angle of vision. "Go talk to him and come back when you're done. Tell him to stay in the bathroom. It's important." I ordered. Summer scampered off and eventually came back after what seemed like eons.
"What's the matter with you?" I barked. "My asking you to go to Konopiste was not an invitation, it was a summons. Do you really think we can go back to business as usual after what we've been doing?" I was impatient and exhausted. "Yes, yes," chirped Summer. "We can never go back, we can never go back, I'll gladly go to Konopiste with you tomorrow." The fault-lines were shifting and groaning again for the final push. "Why did you refuse to go earlier?" I impatiently asked. Summer's face clouded up into a pressured haze. She weighed her thoughts carefully. "I don't know, I got confused. I thought I was being snubbed." I began to address my little angel quietly, but firmly. "You sometimes annoy me, no you annoy me a lot, but I care so much about you, I look the other way." I barely finished my sentence, before Summer blurted out: "I FEEL THE SAME ABOUT YOU!" She clutched my arm tightly. I cleared my throat. "Tomorrow, you will be initiated into the secret breath. Our time is coming to an end here. Give me tomorrow," I paused. "I promise you that we will meet again. It kills me to leave you." Summer adjusted her legs and drew me closer. "Let's do the breath now," I commanded. Summer drew even closer and sat cross-legged across me. I blew into her mouth and she began to gasp and heave violently, losing her balance and fipping backward. I grabbed her arms as she landed on her back, her head almost touching the floor. Summer's eyes were closed and her mouth gapped wide open exhibiting her flawless white teeth. "Are you all right?" I anxiously asked. "What are you experiencing?" Summer opened her eyes and said one word: "TIMELESSNESS!"

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