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