LIVELAUGHLOVE

“I Have Not Lingered in European Monasteries”, Leonard Cohen

I have not lingered in European monasteries. and discovered among the tall grasses tombs of knights who fell as beautifully as their ballads tell; I have not parted the grasses or purposefully left them thatched.

I have not released my mind to wander and wait in those great distances between the snowy mountains and the fishermen, like a moon, or a shell beneath the moving water.

I have not held my breath so that I might hear the breathing of G-d, or tamed my heartbeat with an exercise, or starved for visions. Although I have watched him often I have not become the heron, leaving my body on the shore, and I have not become the luminous trout, leaving my body in the air.

I have not worshipped wounds and relics, or combs of iron, or bodies wrapped and burnt in scrolls.