Revolution, young and ambitious
Picks me up at nine
The floor of her car a jumble
Of empty beer bottles and soda cans
The windows decorated with roses,
Skeletons, and dancing bears
Her dog sniffs me curiously
Then curls into sleep on the back seat
While Revolution lights a stick of incense
And we drive down the road
To find a place known as Panarchy
And the concert playing there

Revelation greets me at the door
She smiles and her eyes reveal delight,
Almost relief, at finding me here
We share a moment
Unmindful of the strangers who surround us
Gently I take her arm
And introduce her to her sister, Revolution

They stand face to face
And exchange diplomatic pleasantries
As they size each other up
Graceful Revelation, with her Ivy League style
And art school charm,
French cuffs and flowered silk vest
As if she'd just stepped out
From one of her own perfect paintings
And Revolution, the fair woman-child
In plaid flannel shirt, worn hiking boots
And tattered jeans with
Multi-colored patches on the rear

The band starts to play
As we move into the ballroom
The dance floor is packed
With tie-dyed revelers
Swaying to the hypnotic beat
Young girls huddle in the corner
Drinking cheap wine
They offer us the bottle
I take a sip
Revelation abstains
One drink and she is unable to draw
Her own conclusions
She once made some jewelry
For the singer, she says
Like the crescent she wears around her neck
Only gold, not silver

Revolution admires the silver crescent
Impressed?
And hands me a beer
She met the guitarist once
And gave him a Bob Marley tape
Her way of saying thanks
For a backstage pass

The whole room dances
In cosmic celebration
Each of us surrendered to some primal rythym
Which bonds us together
Like a close band of gypsys
Who have found a home
For a moment

When the music ends we sit, exhausted
And talk
Revelation claims that the spirit of the Sixties is dead
Killed on the streets of L.A.
In a drive-by shooting by some hip-hop gang
Or if not dead at least raped
Like the rain forests
and polluted by MTV

Revolution is sorry to have missed the Sixties
She still wants to save the whales
And the world
The era of peace, love and flowers hasn't died
She insists, it lives on in the music
And hearts such as hers

3/23/94 (revised 4/17/94)

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