What happens

~ paeansunplugged

What happens

when a word

doesn’t work

for you

the way it should

when you want

someone, anyone

to give you a line

but there’s

no one around

you wait for the words

to come to you

line up

of their own accord

in an awesome verse

but you know

what happens

when you give

someone enough rope…

33 thoughts on “What happens”

  12. Well done Punam
    There’s always enough rope
    When I’m struggling
    For those words
    I read Leonard Cohen
    To find words in my heart
    That’s what happens to my heart

    HAPPENS TO THE HEART

    I was always working steady
    But I never called it art
    I was funding my depression
    Meeting Jesus reading Marx
    Sure it failed my little fire
    But it’s bright the dying spark
    Go tell the young messiah
    What happens to the heart

    There’s a mist of summer kisses
    Where I tried to double-park
    The rivalry was vicious
    And the women were in charge
    It was nothing, it was business
    But it left an ugly mark
    So I’ve come here to revisit
    What happens to the heart

    I was selling holy trinkets
    I was dressing kind of sharp
    Had a pussy in the kitchen
    And a panther in the yard
    In the prison of the gifted
    I was friendly with the guard
    So I never had to witness
    What happens to the heart

    I should have seen it coming
    You could say I wrote the chart
    Just to look at her was trouble
    It was trouble from the start
    Sure we played a stunning couple
    But I never liked the part
    It ain’t pretty, it ain’t subtle
    What happens to the heart

    Now the angel’s got a fiddle
    And the devil’s got a harp
    Every soul is like a minnow
    Every mind is like a shark
    I’ve opened every window
    But the house, the house is dark
    Just say Uncle, then it’s simple
    What happens to the heart

    I was always working steady
    But I never called it art
    The slaves were there already
    The singers chained and charred
    Now the arc of justice bending
    And the injured soon to march
    I lost my job defending
    What happens to the heart

    I studied with this beggar
    He was filthy he was scarred
    By the claws of many women
    He had failed to disregard
    No fable here no lesson
    No singing meadow lark
    Just a filthy beggar blessing
    What happens to the heart

    I was always working steady
    But I never called it art
    I could lift, but nothing heavy
    Almost lost my union card
    I was handy with a rifle
    My father’s 303
    We fought for something final
    Not the right to disagree

    Sure it failed my little fire
    But it’s bright the dying spark
    Go tell the young messiah
    What happens to the heart

    June 24, 2016

    Copyright © 2016 Leonard Cohen.
    Posted on this site by permission of Leonard Cohen.
    All rights reserved. Other use forbidden.

    Liked by 1 person

    Reply

Leave a comment

This site uses Akismet to reduce spam. Learn how your comment data is processed.