2010/06/21 Dance Poem by Margaret Alice

Overjoyed about the new computer you bought
a new laptop, my old one’s screen has broken,
I was stuck in the icy kitchen with a stationary
screen, now I can leave and type where I want
in front of the TV, at the little school desk

You are watching Leonard Cohen’s DVD ‘Live in
London’ on the new laptop, preparing dinner in
between, the sound weak, volume low, when
Leonard sings ‘Dance Me To The End Of Love’
I cup my fingers over my ears to hear

When he sings ‘Tower Of Song’, I cry, he looks so
frail, so debonair, so elegant, singing I’m crazy for
love, saying the answer to life’s question is open-
ended, leaving the mystery intact – he is a poet
to my own heart, he is smart, leaving it all

To the listener’s imagination, he is humble and
cool, I tried to capture the feeling in words, but
the words ran away, my cupped fingers made
recording the thoughts he inspired impossible
still listening while typing on the old laptop

Anchored in the cold kitchen, tonight I want to
watch him singing with surround-sound on the
big screen, toasting him with vodkatini, paying
homage to everything he has been and still
is and always will be

‘I loved you when you opened a thousand
kisses deep’*, sounds too good to be true
but I share the dream with him, when he
sings ‘So Long Marianne’ you say it is
one of your favourite songs

of all time – when we forget to pray for
the angels – they forget to pray for us
I DANCE for the angels to keep them
amused so they won’t forget to pray
for me...


Leonard Cohen ‘Recitation’
Leonard Cohen DVD “Live in London”
Recorded live in concert 17 July 2008