" . . . The Gift of a Golden Voice" - June 7 2021

 

“  . . . The Gift of a Golden Voice”

June 7 2021

I did not know Leonard Cohen

was an expert hypnotist.

Such a quirky interest

for a man who seemed to be 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 been tired of.

How a lady's man

could so often be chaste and alone.

How a complicated man

could be so grounded

in his simple frugal ways.

How a man

tempted by fame

and adored by his fans

could remain so humble

in both his practice and his life.

And how he could speak

with such self-deprecation

in his quiet measured way,

yet write

with such spare allusive grace.

So is it the power of his words

or his 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

or compulsive incantation,

your mother's voice

when she first sang you to sleep?

If I had known Leonard Cohen

what would I have said?

Asked what he meant

when Suzanne took him down

or Marianne went away?

Asked him to recite

or sing a song

or join me in prayer,

a plangent Hallelujah

of praise and thanks

or pleading and despair?

Or would we sit in silence, and contemplate

how words can outlast a life.

And how so often I've found myself mesmerised

by his.

I've been a great admirer of Leonard Cohen for as long as I can remember. I wrote this after listening to a podcast 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