dancing to the vibration thru the floor

First Party At Ken Kesey's With Hell's Angels

Cool black night thru redwoods 
cars parked outside in shade 
behind the gate, stars dim above 
the ravine, a fire burning by the side 
porch and a few tired souls hunched over 
in black leather jackets. In the huge 
wooden house, a yellow chandelier 
at 3 A.M. the blast of loudspeakers 
hi-fi Rolling Stones Ray Charles Beatles 
Jumping Joe Jackson and twenty youths 
dancing to the vibration thru the floor, 
a little weed in the bathroom, girls in scarlet 
tights, one muscular smooth skinned man 
sweating dancing for hours, beer cans 
bent littering the yard, a hanged man 
sculpture dangling from a high creek branch, 
children sleeping softly in their bedroom bunks. 
And 4 police cars parked outside the painted 
gate, red lights revolving in the leaves. 

December 1965

by Allen Ginsberg