I Did Not Know . . . - June 7 2021

 

I Did Not Know  . . .

June 7 2021

I did not know Leonard Cohen

was an expert hypnotist.

Such a quirky interest

for a man who seemed so much more

than the rest of us.

A stoical man

who sought, and suffered, and loved,

was still searching for whatever it was

when he met his untimely end.

A Buddhist and Jew

who saw no contradiction

between the two.

A very private man

who danced with stage fright and demons,

yet stood in front of crowds

and graciously gave them the songs

he must have long grown tired of.

A lady's man

who was more often than not chaste

and on his own.

A complicated man

whose simple frugal ways

kept him firmly grounded.

A celebrated man

who was tempted by fame

and adored by his fans

yet managed to stay humble

in both his practice and life.

A self-deprecating man

who spoke softly

and measured his words,

yet could write

with such spare allusive grace.

So is it the power

of what he has to say,

or the hypnotist's voice

that so entrances us?

So deep you lose yourself.

So slow and clear

he enters into you

as if you've heard this song before;

perhaps a sacred hymn

remembered as a boy,

an incantation

from time immemorial.

Or your mother's voice,

singing you to sleep,

as oil poured on water

calms a troubled sea.

If I had known Leonard Cohen

what would I have said?

Asked what he meant

when Suzanne took him down

Marianne went away?

Asked about the crack

where the light gets in?

Asked him to recite

or sing a song

or share a meal,

breaking bread

on his island in Greece?

Or would I have asked him

to join me in prayer,

a plangent Hallelujah

of thanks and praise

or pleading and despair?

Or would we sit in silence, and contemplate

how words outlast a life.

And how so often I've been mesmerized

by his.

I've been a great admirer of Leonard Cohen for as long as I can remember. I wrote this after listening to an interview with his biographer, Sylvie Simmons (I'm Your Man: The Life of Leonard Cohen).

Here's a link to the podcast: https://www.cbc.ca/radio/writersandcompany/remembering-leonard-cohen-biographer-sylvie-simmons-on-montreal-s-beloved-poet-1.4394764