The House of Fluorescent Bamboo

Alexei Panshin's The Abyss of Wonder

The pagans all play
On their panpipes all day
At the House of Fluorescent Bamboo
Heretics laugh
At the taste of giraffe
And ask for some more in their stew

A pig in high heels
With a baritone squeal
Does a riggy-jig-jig for his friends
A dope-smokin' pope
Blows smoke rings of hope
Calling us all to transcend

The Quakers all shake
The Shakers all quake
And cantors sing blues for the Jews
The good speak in tongues
The bad suck their thumbs
And the heathen do as they choose

Cats in top hats
A fish wearing spats
A river of lobsters and peas
Ants jousting with spears
While elephants cheer
And camels nest high in the trees

-- by Josh Wachtel and Alexei Panshin

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Background courtesy of Ace of Space Graphics