Leonard Cohen At His Most Poetic, For You.

[Steven]

What words, lines, entire poems or songs by Leonard Cohen do you find to be
most poetic? (This thread is prompted by my intention to read, "The Mist"
tonight at a poetry reading. And, yes, I consider the lines of that work, to
be among Leonard Cohen's best poetry.)

[Manna]

I suppose that he froze
when the wind took your clothes
and I guess he never got warm
but you stand there so nice
in your blizzard of ice
please let me come into the storm
la la la

I just love this whole song.

[jimbo]

I like this Mana too

[Steven]

Hi Manna,

I'm with you in loving the whole song. Your posting of these lines
provides the opportunity to see how well they work, as stand alone poetry.
There is great rhythm, imagery and scope here. Good stuff.

[mat james]

Light As The Breeze

She stands before you naked
you can see it, you can taste it,
and she comes to you light as the breeze.
Now you can drink it or you can nurse it,
it don't matter how you worship
as long as you're
down on your knees.
So I knelt there at the delta,
at the alpha and the omega,
at the cradle of the river and the seas.
And like a blessing come from heaven
for something like a second
I was healed and my heart
was at ease.

O baby I waited
so long for your kiss
for something to happen,
oh something like this.

[Steven]

Hi Mat,

Ephemeral transcendence captured nicely here.

[mat james]

Steven,
did you say feminine transcendence?
(I think Leonard was going to entitle the poem/song "Light as her bras", but thought better of it.)
I love the way he mixes the profane with the spiritual and not only gets away with it, but, creates beautiful poetry in the process.
Very unique. Or was that eunich?

[Steven]

Hi Mat,



"I love the way he mixes the profane with the spiritual and not only gets away with it, but, creates beautiful poetry in the process."

He's mixing alright and to great effect, we agree. But, I'd not go so far as to
say that he's here mixing "profane." It could be more a mix of libido and the
spiritual.

[mat james]

good point

[linda_lakeside]

It seems that when we talk of Leonard at his 'most poetic', most of us will take a trip way back in time, and think of songs like One of us Cannot be Wrong, Light as the Breeze, Take this Longing, and many others. These are the cornerstones of his poetic self. His newer music is great, but it's these old tunes that really stand the test of time. There are a few more of the 'newer' that we'll be quoting in the years to come (Anthem, Democracy,etc), but the heart of his songwriting is really in his older material. There are some good poetic turns in Dear Heather, and 10 New Songs, but the best, I think, is the very old material. That which we will never, ever tire of. Never.

[Steven]

Hi Linda,

It may be that the "most of us" that take a trip back are affected by the power of
first impression and the maturation of the poetry within our own experience.
Some people with first exposure to his newer material will have the impression now, and, more so, later that the "cornerstones of his poetic self," aren't in his earlier work.
To some extent, this probably says something more about poetry readers/hearers
than it does about a poet.

[linda_lakeside]

Yes, you're probably right. There are those, for instance, Tom Sakic, who can listen to 10 New Songs over and over, yet, 'I', being older, find his 'poetic self' in his older material. That's where he and I connect, I guess. The poetry he was expressing at that time, were words and emotions that I related to very well. Many people go all the way back to his early books of poetry, as being his 'defining' poetic self. Many sides to Leonard. Plenty for all of us.

[lizzytysh]

That was my thought, too, Steven... that it really does often seem contingent on your initial point of exposure. I've seen where some who heard "I'm Your Man" as their first Leonard Cohen album have said that they prefer it to his earlier material. Like our first love, if we love what we hear, it will always have a special resonance with us.

Whoops... sorry, Linda. You more than nano-seconded me with yours, but I got interrupted and after having written what I had, seeing that "someone else has posted" wasn't enough to dissuade me . What you've said just now I completely agree with.


~ Lizzy

[raugust7]

I think that in some ways, Leonard's poetry has become less obviously 'poetic,' but he has become more sparse and thus, more startlingly profound.
Personally i think Anthem contains possibly his most perfect, succinct and immediate line:
"Every heart to love will come/ but like a refugee,"
That is written on my skull in characters of fire.
I like this thread

[linda_lakeside]

It's true that his poetry has changed over the years. I can't imagine Leonard writing 'Because of", let alone Dear Heather in his early days, no matter what one may think of the songs themselves. There are many lines that strike to the heart with just a few quick strokes. Your example from The Future being but one. On that note, I'd really like to go back, and begin at the beginning. Start reading his earliest poems, and see how they relate to his current material, which I've not done, as so many others have. It would be a fascinating journey. I know it's been explored in this forum, but I've not actually started at page one, and continued on, missing nothing. But, that bastard called 'time', always has its own way.