Leonard Norman Cohen Poem by Sheena Blackhall

Canadian singer, songwriter, poet, novelist.
He tackled themes head on
Religion, politics, social isolation
Sexuality. He was the bird on the wire
Tapping into the hum of the busy world

You want it darker?
Hallelujah! Cohen is your man

This son of a rabbi, a famed Talmudic writer
Descendent of the great High priest called Aaron
A buckskin boy who wrote of mythologies,
Sparrows, even flowers for Hitler

Look in the spice box of the world
To find his treasures

Zen and Hebrew ran through his every vein,
A thousand kisses deep.

Joan Baez loved his songs, a Winter lady
A true sister of mercy to chant his words

How he could reinvent the new from old!
New skins for the old ceremonies

Cohen is your solace if you're blue
Everybody knows his prophetic songs of the Future
His lyrics ringing the changes of popular problems
From any street in the world, he writes of longing


Re-named Jikan, the Dharma name for silence,
Now that the pary's over
Does he watch us now from a window in the skies
This songbird, does he enjoy the sound of silence?