but hang on to the demon". Throughout this
spiritual battle, he is aware of his ultimate faith
and morality. He vows to relentlessly continue his
journey "Until at last there is only the death
chamber".
The journey renders him dumb “Words gone
from my mouth, speechless in the tide” but ceases
to end “miles to go. Secrets yet unread”. Mystery
and mysticism also play an important part of
Wieners poetry. Wieners closely read the work of
Clare and Holderlin and composed “The Ace of
Pentacles” (Reisman, 2012). This tarot signature
of the major arcana applies to him (e.g. if Di
Prima and Waldman are both “The high
priestess”, Wieners is the Ace of Pentacles,
Kerouac is the Ace of Swords etc…). “Soul loss”
and “Soul retrieval” are vital aspects of the
shamanic “hero’s journey” and we see these
elements throughout Wieners poetry (Harvey &
Wallis, 2007). In the poem “Cocaine” we see
evidence of the “shamanic flight” when he states
“a flash of pure fire, fusing from the centre, where
all motion is one”. At the end of this poem, his
trance, is imbued with “dreams and infinite
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