His death was initially unnoticed
But no one was callous:
It happened when those fateful
Shots rang out in Dallas.
But Huxley’s fame later got
Right back on the list
With Jim Morrison as his
Ad hoc lobbyist.
Morrison raved about
The Doors of Perception
Huxley’s long essay in a
Psychedelic direction.
He even named his famous band
After this book
But I don’t know if Morrison ever
Took a longer look
To learn that phrase was one
Huxley didn’t make.
He’d simply borrowed it from
Poet William Blake
In a book that Huxley had admired
And knew well
Which was called The Marriage of
Heaven and Hell.
Would The Doors have rolled another
Lucky seven
If they’d been The Hell, The Marriage
Or The Heaven?
Hold on: I’ve talked much less
About Huxley’s prose
Than singer Jim Morrison − so,
I guess I’ll diagnose
This as a case of my being thoughtless
And imprecise
Allowing Huxley to be overshadowed
Not once but twice.