1922 · CLOSE READING
Diary of a Drug Fiend
Diary of a Drug Fiend (1922), PDF p. 235
Original page
Enlarge ↗
Highlights use the original PDF text layer. OCR-only matches may not be visible on the scan.
Transcription
Download text ↓raw extractionoriginal embedded textReview: unreviewed
“Cold Turkey Bar
I have some idea that I had a terrible quarrel with
Peter, but I can’t remember any details.
I think he does, though, but he won't tell me.
I don’t know why he should act like that. The only
thing I can think is that Gretel Webster may have come
down to see him perhaps in her astral body, and put
him against me somehow. .. .
He was lying on the sofa in his pyjamas. I wanted
to be kissed, and went over to him with some cocaine.
But he didn’t move. He looked at me with wide open
eyes. There was some dreadful fear in them, and he
said,—
“‘ Black, the plague of the pit,
Her pustules visibly fester.”’
Of course, I knew he didn’t mean it, but I was hurt.
I gave him the cocaine.
It roused him. He sat up and then he held me by
the shoulders and looked straight at my face and said:—
“Dragon of lure and dread,
Tiger of fury and lust, |
The quick in chains to the dead,
The slime alive in the dust,
Brazen shame like a flame,
An orgy of pregnant pollution
With hate beyond aim or name—
Orgasm, death, dissolution ! ”
And then he began shrieking, and ran out of the
house down to the lake and dived right in. He swam
a few strokes and then came out and walked slowly up
to the house.
I found some towelsin the linen chest. I was afraid
of his catching a chill, so I rubbed him hard all over.
He seemed to have forgotten everything. He was
quite nice and normal but just a little scared.
I can’t make out what’s the matter with him. He
Page provenance & review flags
Stable page ID: d7f070f297cca59c9cea12ce:p00235
Line breaks are preserved. Reading order and OCR accuracy may need review.
Printed page label has not been verified.
- No automated review flags. This does not establish transcription accuracy.