The tea den

From his sitting room window
Ricci looked down at the street
and decided to go for a walk

Through a labyrinth of passageways and staircases
he descended
East or West?
he asked himself
and then decided to go left

♫ ♫ ♫

Upon reaching one of his usual haunts,
Ricci entered,
sat down
and waited for the girl to bring him
a pot of tea

♫ ♫ ♫

It’s an auspicious day
for a tea ceremony
said the sole other patron in the café

As Ricci gave an Indian head wobble in reply
the man rose and continued,
Here’s my card
We begin at seven sharp
Good morning
And then he left the café

Entheogenic Tea Ceremony
@ The Tea Den
33 Tisane Lane

Uh-hum,
murmured Ricci
as he lay the card on the table
He poured himself another cup of tea
and then observed the flow
of people walking by

♫ ♫ ♫

Ricci put the card in pocket,
paid for his tea
and stepped outside
A number 13 bus was approaching
and when it stopped,
Ricci got on

Welcome aboard,
said the driver

This is a nice ride you’ve got

Newest addition to the fleet
She’s got solar panels on the roof and wifi,
and by pressing this button
I can make red lights turn green

Cool

Ricci then chose a seat
and rode
for a while

♫ ♫ ♫

What’s your name, Mister?

My name is Ricci

Where’re you going?

I don’t know
Wherever this bus is taking me

What do you do?

I sit, I walk
and sometimes I take the bus

After a while the child stopped asking questions,
and then Ricci enjoyed the view
in silence

♫ ♫ ♫

At the end of the line
Ricci got off
He looked around
and then began to walk back
to the center of town

♫ ♫ ♫

Nice coat

It is what it is,
Ricci replied

Purple is cool

The deeper the better

The light turned green
and Ricci crossed the street

♫ ♫ ♫

Looking for anything in particular?

What can you recommend?

A Ya Ho Wha 13 album just came in

Which one?

Penetration: An Aquarian Symphony

Father Yod at his best

So they say

Got any Sun Ra?

Lanquidity

I’ll take both

Ricci paid for the records,
thanked the man
and left the shop

♫ ♫ ♫

Can I interest you
in a book on the solar system?

I’m an inner space traveler

I’ve got The Art of Living by Goenka 

Remain equanimous

And I Am That by Nisargadatta Maharaj

I am

So you’ve read that one too

Got anything by Terence McKenna?

Food of the Gods

I’ll take it

Ricci paid the man
and then continued his walk through the park

♫ ♫ ♫

Back in his flat,
Ricci put on the Ya Ho Wha 13,
made a pot of indica tea
and read
for a while

♫ ♫ ♫

Ricci glanced at the photo of Meher Baba on his wall,
went to the Dharma Seed website
and downloaded a talk,
and then listened
while the late afternoon light
flowed by

♫ ♫ ♫

At 6:15 Ricci began
to make his way to The Tea Den
It wasn’t far,
but he prefered
to never be in a hurry

♫ ♫ ♫

Good evening
Come in
Welcome to our den

Nice place

Once a year we invite someone new
to join us
This year it was my turn to choose

I see

We gather here
once a month
and drink
Last month we had peyote tea
and the month before, San Pedro
Tonight we are drinking mushroom tea,
and the ceremony is about to begin
The others are in the den
Come

Ricci followed the man
into a  candlelit room
Thirteen soft archairs,
arranged in a circle,
surrounded a wooden table
upon which a china tea service was laid out

Friends, this is Ricci

Introductions were made
and Ricci was offered a chair

We stay together
in this room
until the ceremony is over
and maintain silence
unless exceptionally inspired
Respect for the medicine
is imperative

The tea was poured
and all but one candle blown out
Ricci drank his tea,
closed his eyes
and waited
for Mushrooms to arrive

♫ ♫ ♫

Time faded away
and Mushrooms began to teach
Ricci became the flow
and ceased to exist

♫ ♫ ♫

As time began to return
and dawn neared,
the ceremony came to an end

That was some pretty strong tea

Panaeolus cyanescen

Thank you for inviting me

We meet on the third Thursday of each month
You’ll always be welcome

Then Ricci and the others parted,
leaving the house
one by one

♫ ♫ ♫