Poems and kind words by Ari M. Maslow upon the occasion of the 10th Anniversary of the Beat at the Sweet.
And then there was this time…
Birth.
And then there was this time when,
I woke up on top of a mountain,
And the world was new to me,
Yet I knew it already, we were old friends.
Life.
And then there was this time when,
The Pyramids and the sky seemed as one,
And the gears of human ambition
danced for balance.
Surrender.
And then there was this time when,
We knew everything and yet
we couldn’t truly fix anything.
Death.
And then there was this time when,
In-between the heartbeats,
Time was no more than a speck of dust
on a distant planet.
Spirit.
And then there was this time when there was no box.
By Ari M. Maslow 1.10.24
To John Macon King, my partner in poetic crimes:
Thank you for carrying the torch, stoking the fire, and generally inspiring my lazy existential ass. Thank you for reminding me of the time that we brought the legends of Beat and Post-Beat poetry to the Sweetwater Music Hall for “Beat at the Sweet” so that we could celebrate the release of the long-awaited movie of On the Road, in which our co-conspirator Gerald Nicosia, famed Jack Kerouac biographer, had been the onsite Beat-Poet consultant.
And that was the time when I was too nervous to introduce Wavy Gravy and deferred the honor to Gerald Nicosia, but wasn’t too nervous to call out like a chimpanzee as called for by my poem “Simian Scribe”, shocking the room. And that was the time when the Sweetwater hosted John Macon King, founder of MillValleyLit, amongst the greatest of verse. And that was the time when….
By Ari M. Maslow
Simian Scribe
Simian scribe
Simian scribe
Out of the jungle
into the tribe.
Simian scribe,
simian scribe
Out of the forest and onto the plains.
Simian scribe
Simian scribe
You are The monkey that ate the mushroom
Yeah, you ate it all up
You are The monkey that ate the mushroom
And…….you had a thought
You said who am I
Who am I
What am I
Why am I
Where am I
How am I
Simian scribe, simian scribe,
Out of the jungle
Into the tribe.
Out of the forest
Off the savannah
Onto the plains
Onto the trail
Onto the path
Onto the road
Into the whimsical journey.
Simian scribe, simian scribe
The road offers you a road back whence you came,
the road offers discover of ones self,
the road offer discovery of other selves.
You are The monkey that ate the mushroom
Yeah, you ate it all up
And asked, who am I,
What am I
Why am I
I am me
I am not you
Maybe we are one.
Simian scribe simian scribe
Tell me of your journey on the road of life
Your path
Your trail
Your tail disappearing into a new balance.
by Ari Maslow
This poem was originally published in MillValleyLit Summer 2013 issue, following Ari’s live reading at “Beat at the Sweet.”
Quick Links:
The 10th plus 1 Anniversary of “Beat at the Sweet.” A Beat Poetry Reading (and music) in Tribute to Jack Kerouac & movie release of On the Road at Mill Valley CA. Sweetwater Music Hall Jan. 8, 2013:
Remembering “Literary Outlaw” Jerry Kamstra by Wallace Baine.
Jerry Kamstra Obituary by Daniel Yaryan.
Reflections on Jerry Kamstra by J.Macon King.
THE LAST BOHEMIAN WIZARD (in honor of novelist Jerry Kamstra) by Daniel Yaryan.
And then there was this time…
Poems and kind words by Ari M. Maslow upon the occasion of 10th plus 1 Anniversary of “Beat at the Sweet.”