I'm going to read a couple of poems, three or four poems
now that belong in a curious way to India.
At least some of them belong in a curious way.
Some of them belong in an obvious way, actually.
OK.
The first one is called "Maya."
As you all know, Maya is the vast veil of cosmic illusion
in which we all live.
It's for Peter Orlovsky.
And a word, O, capital O is slang for opium.
"White clothes, white skin, white cows, the dream of India
and flowers, teeth stained red, hair silver
like that old giant jeweler wouldn't touch meat.
A little O now and then."
And that's true, actually.
Opium is very easy to get in India,
and Indian hemp, known as ganja in Hindi,
and known in this country is marijuana,
is sold in government stores with government tax
stamps in India to be smoked where you please.
Although they did send out a government ruling
two years ago that civil servants were not
to smoke marijuana on their lunch hours.
[LAUGHTER]
They thought it made them inefficient in the afternoon.
[LAUGHTER]
Nehru, who was really trying to make
India a presentable country, went
to promise to make hemp illegal in 15 years.
[LAUGHS]