The Letters

Leonard Cohen 1934 (Westmount) – 2016 (Los Angeles, California)



You never liked to get
The letters that I sent.
But now you've got the gist
Of what my letters meant.

You're reading them again,
The ones you didn't burn.
You press them to your lips,
My pages of concern.

I said there'd been a flood.
I said there's nothing left.
I hoped that you would come.
I gave you my address.

Your story was so long,
The plot was so intense,
It took you years to cross
The lines of self-defence.

The wounded forms appear:
the loss, the full extent;
and simple kindness here,
the solitude of strength.

You walk into my room.
You sit there at my desk,
Begin your letter to
The one who's coming next.
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Submitted by RobertHaigh on June 11, 2020

Modified on April 28, 2023

37 sec read
276

Quick analysis:

Scheme XAXA XBXB XXXX XCXC XAXX XXXX
Closest metre Iambic trimeter
Characters 597
Words 119
Stanzas 6
Stanza Lengths 4, 4, 4, 4, 4, 4

Leonard Cohen

Leonard Norman Cohen was a highly gifted and varied writer — novelist, playright, songwriter and poet. He was already quite famous as a poet before embarking on a music career as a singer-songwriter. He is generally considered to be one of the greatest songwriters of all time, and his songs have been recorded by countless other performers. Born in Montreal, Canada, in 1934, Cohen had a long and productive career. He was working right up to his death, in 2016 at the age of 82. more…

All Leonard Cohen poems | Leonard Cohen Books

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