Well there’s a lot of ways to get there a lot of ways to go.

For a start you can stop off at the Rainbow Café and drink

drink yourself beyond yourself into silence through the jukebox

through all the chatter of the pinball machines till its Time.

That would be the end of it that would be the tale. But suppose.

Suppose you have the one drink leave set out across the city.

You take the bus you take the tram you take the train you walk.

You come to the river there you wake the sleepy boatman.

For sure for certain he’s sure in a foul mood, and sore drunk.

And when he’s rowed you over there’s the marshes and the wild beasts.

There’s the vipers and the soldier ants and the roaches and the flies.

You have to catch your own wild horse you have to tame it, ride it

at last at long last down the long road to Henrietta’s house,

and just because all hell has broken broken loose broken loose

you’re thinking someone something in the universe doesn’t want

the two of you to meet, ever. Suppose you just keep going

to the end the road makes in the door that opens into light

water in the kettle wine in the dark red bottle and her beads.

And now she wants to dance she wants to click her fingers laugh

fling out her braids flying in the window in the candle’s flame.