Night of Fear and Love in Amsterdam
© Jaimey Perham 02/20/2010

Stuck one cold fall night in a smoke café in the city of Amsterdam

The owner behind the counter introduced me to an unusual slice of cake

Ate the whole thing, friend from Southern Holland said eat more slowly

It melted in my mouth and quickly moved to the pit of my stomach

Very soon, I began to feel real nice, crispy, toasty, and baked

The oil paintings on the white wall turned a glowing rainbow of colors

My empty head filled with growing liquid alive with a heart of its own

The group left the café and we walked through the red light district part of town

The barely clothed woman in the windows aroused my curious senses

Cars and people on the cobble stone street left trails in their wake

We stopped into a bar with music from “The Doors,” drifting through the dry air

I felt the death spirit of Jim Morrison pass through my body at that moment

As I walked amongst the elder shamans and naïve exchange students,

I felt tired, so we retreated to the catholic youth hostel full of young lesbians and gay men

Feeling uneasy, I rested my aching head on the hard mattress in the big clinical sterile room

Suddenly, fear rushed through my chilled body as foreign people walked pass my tiny bed

I closed my now saucer eyes, but could not hide from the evil thief like presence in the den

The only thoughts now in my head were of my loving kind parents back in the United States,

I just wanted to see them once more before I die in a maddening strange European city

As my heart beat faster and faster, and just as it felt like it might explode

A rushing feeling of unconditional love filled my open sponge like consciousness

The next thing I remember was walking down the street the following morning in the bright light

Leaving the night of love and fear in Amsterdam, all I knew was I would never be the same again.