The Original Tea Party

Dear Friends,

The year was 1997 and I was working as a secretary and translator for a Sports Association in Buenos Aires. At the same time I was studying Philosophy at the University of Buenos Aires. I didn´t own a computer with Internet access back then, so I would get to work an hour early just to log into the World Wide Web. Everyone takes it for granted today, but back then it was like a huge door opening in our imaginations and our minds.
I had recently read Tom Wolfe´s "The Electric Kool Aid Acid Test" and had become infatuated with Ken Kesey and his Merry Pranksters. So one morning I logged into the Internet and through Altavista web searcher I was able to find the official Pranksters website http://www.intrepidtrips.com I was ecstatic!
Soon I decided to write a poem for Kesey, which I did and send and... Alas! Much to my surprise, on the next day I received an answer from the man himself, saying he had liked it so much he posted it on his outhouse (with hammer and nails) so he could read it every morning.
Over the years I continued corresponding through e-mails with him, Babbs and his son Zane, until he passed... I haven´t written often in the past few years, but I will always remember Kesey´s gesture.

So, grab a pitcher of ice cool lemon tea and see if you like it yourselves! This poem was the first step in what would become to Lady Astor´s Tea Party (which has NOTHING to do with other tea parties across the World) and I wrote it when I was only 19 years old!

Love,
Lady Astor

.............................................................

Bossanova beat

Is out on the street

Les gents s´en vont dans le ciel

Et tout le monde est três jolie.

A girl kitten is out in the alley

And the wide-eyed children stare at her

She is the light,

She is so bright!

The sun comes down

And the alley becomes grey

A high Lama emerges from the mist

And touches the kitten girl.

Everything turns into pink and golden rays

The Lama is old,

But his skin is not cold;

Blue animals transform the path

Of dusk into stone.

The icy face of the night

Gives place to a cheerful reunion,

The children set up a tea party,

And everyone is invited!

Blue tails of the animals laugh

At the smiley eyes of the Lama,

The kitten girl pours twenty teacups

Of boiling frenzy...

Her hair is golden and lights up the alley.

Young girlish boys paint kaftans

With the Lama’s face in them

A very young queen

Offers jewels to the children.

They get hungry at some point

And so the young boys cater

A feast of muffins and pudding

For all those who want them.

A graceful silver pony

Eats pudding from an emerald plate

While the wide eyed children

Comb his hair and caress his body,

The Queen sings hymns in ancient Persian...

And then everybody dances

And the alley is so lovely

That flowers start to rain

And perfume the dancers.

At the rosy hour

The Lama decides to part,

Not without kissing the kitten girl

And leaving a purple mandala on her cheek.

The dawn has arrived

And the feast vanishes into a shawl of stars.

The children arrange the place and leave,

The Queen rides the pony towards the north,

And the girlish boys set a velvet cart.

Meanwhile, a giant wild orchid blooms from the ground,

The kitten girl sits inside

And emerges as any girl

That walks the Earth

She gets up and puts on a little dress,

And as she strolls down the angry streets,

Little pink stars pour

Every time she waves her hair.

.............................................................