James Douglas Morrison (1943-1971) was an American rock & roll icon born to a military family in Florida. Almost primal in its purity, he had a sexual and rebellious charisma that granted him international stardom as lead singer of The Doors. The personification of California’s 1960’s counterculture, he embodied a philosophy of existential, ancient mysticism that shone through in his shaman-like stage presence. He eventually left The Doors and released a handful of poetry collections before his untimely death at the age of 27 in a bathtub in Paris. His grave in Pére-Lachaise cemetery continues to be one of the most popular tourist attractions in the city.
CELEBRATION OF THE LIZARD (excerpt)
Lions in the street & roaming
Dogs in heat, rabid, foaming
A beast caged in the heart of a city
The body of his mother
Rotting in the summer ground.
He fled the town.
He went down South
And crossed the border
Left the chaos and disorder
Back there
Over his shoulder.
One morning he awoke in a green hotel
W/ a strange creature groaning beside him
Sweat oozed from its shiny skin.
Is everybody in? (3)
The ceremony is about to begin.
WELCOME TO THE AMERICAN NIGHT
Welcome to the American Night
where dogs bite
to find the voice
the face the fate the fame
to be tamed
by the Night
in a quiet soft luxuriant
car
Hitchhikers line the Great Highway