Song for L. Cohen

I tried so hard to win, I threw away the prizeThere were things I could not alter, so I had to let them slide I’ve been aching for somebodyWho will never ache for me I let the darkness inNow the darkness will not leave I wasn’t born to love but love still follows me aroundI

About a Boy

You could eat pancakes all dayWhen I was a boyNo one was ever in a hurryMy grandfather used to show meThe foundations of the country You could see faces everywhereFor free, unobscuredWhen I was a boy They had just discovered the cure for boredomAnd it rained blood constantlyWhen I was a boy My mother pointed

Enough

There’s enough time to findlove in a minute There’s enough water in adrop of rain There’s more than enoughbeauty to fill up your eyes Over and over again

Bullies

bullies rulebullies winbullies will tell the tale of how you failedfailed them so badlyfailed all of us bullies laughbullies singbullies will write the laws that keep you in chainsand so much painand so much shame until you are drowning in bile it’s all your faultbut your nest of saltshould comfort you for a while

The Animals

Look at the animals!They are naked in the worldAnd resolutely themselves They take no more than is givenAnd are proud to be of the earthAnd for the earth They are rich with strengthAnd delight in sheer being They do not complainOr strive for nirvanaThey do not feel sorry for themselvesOr anything Look at the animals!As

A Blessing

It is a blessing to live on the earthTo walk and talk, think and feelIf you can avoid entanglementsAnd hoe your own row It is a blessing to live on the earthEven if you must wear a suit of tearsAnd feel each pain a thousand times It is a blessing to live on the earthWhen

Auras

The gliding auras of NancyLift the evening to the starsAnd all about the wine-stained villaCouples trigger fire alarms Up jumps a cloud of nightmareAnd there you are againNose in the tragic mirrorWhere all your fears are you The dangling conversations of KathyReach for the woman in the manAnd everywhere that Kathy goesHer mouth is full

Everyday I Climb

Everyday I climb a mountainA mountain only I can see Everyday I run the raceIn spite of my infirmity Everday I climb a mountainWhat else can I do? If I didn’t climb the mountainI’d never get to see the view

There is a Time

there is a time for short hairand a time for long hairand a time to tear your hair outover some stupid thing there is a time for suicideand a time for rebirthand a time to be thankfulfor your fingers and your tongue there is a time to pig outand a time to fastand a time

Burning Words

I followed burning wordsin acne days a skullcap sky, myclose companion I followed burning starsto other worldswith never lands I tapped a drum in Heaven’s band Looking backfrom the Ministry of Simile(now under attack) I see how everything was soon traduced butburning words still burning black (1998)