Page:Fire!! - 1926.djvu/38

Page Thirty-six but he no longer felt that urge just walk and think and wonder  think and remember and smoke  blow smoke that mixed with his thoughts and the night  he would like to live in a large white palace  to wear a long black cape  very full and lined with vermillion  to have many cushions and to lie there among them  talking to his friends  lie there in a yellow silk shirt and black velvet trousers  like music-review artists talking and pouring strange liquors from curiously beautiful bottles  bottles with long slender necks  he climbed the noisy stair of the odorous tenement  smelled of fish  of stale fried fish and dirty milk bottles  he rather liked it  he liked the acrid smell of horse manure too  strong  thoughts  yes to lie back among strangely fashioned cushions and sip eastern wines and talk  Alex threw himself on the bed  removed his shoes  stretched and relaxed  yes and have music waft softly into the darkened and incensed room  he blew a cloud of smoke  oh the joy of being an artist and of blowing blue smoke thru an ivory holder inlaid with red jade and green

the street was so long and narrow so long and narrow  and blue  in the distance it reached the stars  and if he walked long enough  far enough  he could reach the stars too  the narrow blue was so empty  quiet  Alex walked music  it was nice to walk in the blue after a party  Zora had shone again  her stories  she always shone  and Monty was glad  every one was glad when Zora shone  he was glad he had gone to Monty's party  Monty had a nice place in the village  nice lights  and friends and wine  mother would be scandalized that he could think of going to a party  without a copper to his name  but then mother had never been to Monty's  and mother had never seen the street seem long and narrow and blue  Alex walked music  the click of his heels kept time with a tune in his mind  he glanced into a lighted cafe window  inside were people sipping coffee  men  why did they sit there in the loud light  didn't they know that outside the street  the narrow blue street met the stars  that if they walked long enough  far enough  Alex walked and the click of his heels sounded  and had an echo  sound being tossed back and forth  back and forth  some one was approaching  and their echoes mingled  and gave the sound of castenets  Alex liked the sound of the approaching man's footsteps  he walked music also  he knew the beauty of the narrow blue  Alex knew that by the way their echoes mingled  he wished he would speak  but strangers don't speak at four o'clock in the morning  at least if they did he couldn't imagine what would be said  maybe  pardon me but are you walking toward the stars  yes, sir, and if you walk long enough  then may I walk with you I want to reach the stars too  perdone me senor tiene vd. fosforo Alex was glad he had been addressed in Spanish  to have been asked for a match in English  or to have been addressed in English at all  would have been blasphemy just then  Alex handed him a match  he glanced at his companion apprehensively in the match glow  he was afraid that his appearance would shatter the blue thoughts  and stars  ah  his face was a perfect compliment to his voice  and the echo of their steps mingled  they walked in silence  the castanets of their heels clicking accompaniment  the stranger inhaled deeply and with a nod of content and a smile  blew a cloud of smoke  Alex felt like singing  the stranger knew the magic of blue smoke also  they continued in silence  the castanets of their heels clicking rythmically  Alex turned in his doorway  up the stairs and the stranger waited for him to light the room  no need for words  they had always known each other  as they undressed by the blue dawn  Alex knew he had never seen a more perfect being  his body was all symmetry and music  and Alex called him Beauty  long they lay  blowing smoke and exchanging thoughts  and Alex swallowed with difficulty  he felt a glow of tremor  and they talked and  slept

Alex wondered more and more why he liked Adrian so he liked many people  Wallie  Zora  Clement  Gloria  Langston  John  Gwenny  oh many people  and they were friends  but Beauty  it was different  once Alex had admired Beauty's strength  and Beauty's eyes had grown soft and he had said  I like you more than any one Dulce  Adrian always called him Dulce  and Alex had become confused  was it that he was so susceptible to beauty that Alex liked Adrian so much  but no  he knew other people who were beautiful  Fania and Gloria  Monty and Bunny  but he was never confused before them  while Beauty  Beauty could make him believe in Buddha  or imps  and no one else could do that  that is no one but Melva  but then he was in love with Melva  and that explained that  he would like Beauty to know