I met Einstein in a dream
Springtime on Princeton lawn grass
I kneeled down and kissed his young thumb
like a ruddy pope
his fresh face broad cheeked rosy
“I invented a universe separate,
something like a Virgin” –
“Yes, the creature gives birth to itself,”
I quoted from Mescaline
We sat down open air universal summer
to eat lunch, professor’s wives
at the Tennis Court Club,
our meeting eternal, as expected,
my gesture to kiss his fist
unexpectedly saintly
considering the Atom Bomb I didn’t mention,
New York, December 14, 1972
Allen Ginsberg – from Mind Breaths – Poems 1972-1977