Except for a couple of hours
in the morning
which I passed in the company
of a sage
I stayed in bed
without food
only a few mouthfuls of water
"You are a fine-looking old man"
I said to myself in the mirror
"And what is more
you have the correct attitude
You don't care if it ends
or if it goes on
And as for the women
and the music
there will be plenty of that
in Paradise"
Then I went to the Mosque
of Memory
to express my gratitude
Leonard Cohen, The Book of Longing (2006)
WORK IN PROGRESS
he's going to get sick
and die alone
he is the main character
in my little story called
The House of Prayer
Leonard Cohen, The Book of Longing (2006)
Leonard Cohen must have listened to a lot of silences to write verses like these, and to write songs like If It Be Your Will, Suzanne, Take This Waltz. Silences in retreat with Roshi, silences in the Mediterranean island or in the busy streets of a city, silences within himself, and those without.
He took over a year to work on just one verse.
Everything imbued and hued with silence.
