Book of Mercy #46-50

Debate on Leonard Cohen's poetry (and novels), both published and unpublished. Song lyrics may also be discussed here.
DBCohen
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Book of Mercy #46-50

Post by DBCohen »

When we started I predicted it will take us about two years to go through BoM, but it will soon be three years since we’ve embarked on this journey. The pace grew slower and slower, but we are still here, and now have reached the final stretch, if you will. So here is the first of the last five prayers in the book:
II.46
Help me in the rain, help me in the darkness, help me at my aimless table. Bend me down to the rain, and let the darkness speak to my heart. Blessed are you who speaks from the darkness, who gives a form to desolation. You draw back the heart that is spilled in the world, you establish the borders of pain. Your mercy you make known to those who know your name, and your healing is discovered beneath the lifted cry. The ruins signal your power; by your hand it is broken down, and all things crack that your throne be restored to the heart. You have written your name on the chaos. The eyes that roll down the darkness, you have rolled them back to the skull. Let each man be sheltered in the fortress of your name, and let each one see the other from the towers of your law. Create the world again, and stand us up, as you did before, on the foundation of your light.
Like in many other cases in BoM, the echoes of the Jewish Prayer Book are clearly felt in this prayer. “Blessed are you who…” is a formula that is repeated again and again in the daily prayers. LC omits “the Lord” from the formula, and does not capitalize “you”, thus creating a more neutral form, which may suite those who come from various traditions.

As always, this prayer includes many beautiful verses, and also an interesting perception of God. Here God is not only the master of creation, but also of chaos, and chaos here reflects not only physical reality, but also mental one: when the soul is tormented, it can find its way to God through mercy. God is called upon to create the world anew, on the foundation of his light; this reflects the Kabbalistic view, of which LC is well aware, that the creation of the world involved a catastrophe: God’s light was too powerful for the vessels into which it was poured and they broke and fell, taking sparks of the light with them. Redemption will come when the sparks will return to their origin. This is a much more powerful catastrophe than the one of the Garden of Eden, and it is responsible for the sad reality of our existence. It also brings about the idea of tikkun, or mending, which is the process by which the world is made whole again, and in which human beings have an important role, and not the least so through their prayers (I’ve suddenly realized that I’ve already elaborated on this during our discussion of the very first prayer of the book, just three years ago).

There is much more to say, but I’d like to comment only on one more small point. The verse “…help me at my aimless table” brings to mind the many tables that appear in LC’s songs, poems and interviews. Like “room” or “window”, “table” is an important object for Cohen, as well as significant word and concept, part of his private mythology. The expression “aimless table” is very intriguing; it speaks of the poet’s hesitation and confusion when trying to write. It may also refer to the family life which unfolds at the table. The table is, in some ways, a substitute to the altar, and thus also charged with religious meaning. Here is one of LC’s poems, from The Energy of Slaves, which can illustrate some of these allusions:
I think it is safe to tell you where I
am. I'm writing at the old kitchen table
listening to Bach, looking at the sky
and then down at this page where the fable
of this morning will be quickened by those
tiny gods of unemployment who guide
my curious career, who decompose
my song before my eyes, my leap of pride.
So I see it is not safe at all.
I am not sitting at the old table.
I did not come home. I am not fair and tall.
Bach said he'd play but he was unable
to leave the woman sleeping in his bed
who fleshes out the tunes he'd lose instead.
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mat james
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Re: Book of Mercy #46-

Post by mat james »

I’ll just meander into this verse.

“…help me at my aimless table” is a great place to start some comments on this verse, DB.

‘I'm writing at the old kitchen table
listening to Bach, looking at the sky
and then down at this page where the fable
of this morning will be quickened by those
tiny gods of unemployment who guide
my curious career,’

It is a meaningful connection you make here Doron, the ‘aimless table’ and the ‘unemployment’ which gives him time to create and therefore ‘guide his curious career’. And what a lovely place this is for any writer; this gentle place at a table. And that lovely place the mind wanders off to at that table. This is the field where the writer ploughs and reaps …all at once.
The room, the window, the table and the door; a chair; all turn to tools of trade and poetry and mystery within; -within Leonard’s world/mind. The room and this frame of mind are the nearest thing to heaven for a writer.
The light, the sky, the darkness, the stars, the ocean, the tide, the beach all connect that “other” world, back to him.
…I set out one night, but I did not know.”

‘Blessed are you who speaks from the darkness, who gives a form to desolation. You draw back the heart that is spilled in the world, you establish the borders of pain. Your mercy you make known to those who know your name, and your healing is discovered beneath the lifted cry.'

“…and my heart in the shape of a begging bowl”

Days of poesy at some table in the wilderness of mind and soul and Spirit; with a lead pencil and a sheet of blank paper…the best of prayer; for which is more noble;
to pray the prayers of others,
or to become prayer itself ?

And this is where Leonard is at in this Book of Mercy and in this verse. He is at the table, dining on mercy and creativity; ploughing and reaping.

"Knock and the door will be opened;
seek and you shall find;
ask and it will be given".

This sounds like good advice to any budding mystic ;-)

Mat.
"Without light or guide, save that which burned in my heart." San Juan de la Cruz.
DBCohen
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Re: Book of Mercy #46-

Post by DBCohen »

Mat,

Thank you for this contribution, coming from the table of the poet.

***
I’d like to offer here a moment of silence in memory of Greg, who at certain periods was a very intriguing contributor to our discussion of BoM. He even created, and generously shared with us, a full concordance of the book. He will be greatly missed.
Diane

Re: Book of Mercy #46-

Post by Diane »

DBCohen wrote:I’d like to offer here a moment of silence in memory of Greg, who at certain periods was a very intriguing contributor to our discussion of BoM. He even created, and generously shared with us, a full concordance of the book. He will be greatly missed.
Greg was one of a kind. We'll all miss him. What a(nother) remarkable thing he did in opening his 'dear friends' thread.
In his last post in this thread, ~greg wrote:
"You" is capitalized at the begining of sentences in the BOOK OF MERCY.
And in exactly one other place.
The last word in poem #17.

Anyone who can explain that
- will win eternal life.

And now, 6 months later, he is gone:-( He must surely be out there in eternity confounding the universe with his dissertations on verse 51 of the Book of Mercy.
mat james wrote:Days of poesy at some table in the wilderness of mind and soul and Spirit; with a lead pencil and a sheet of blank paper…the best of prayer; for which is more noble;
to pray the prayers of others,
or to become prayer itself ?

And this is where Leonard is at in this Book of Mercy and in this verse. He is at the table, dining on mercy and creativity; ploughing and reaping.


Your posts are poetry, Mat. Continuing on your theme, I have noticed that Greg's concordance shows the word "rain" appears only three times in BoM. Twice in this verse 46:

Help me in the rain,
help me in the darkness
help me at my aimless table
Bend me down to the rain
and let the darkness
speak to my heart.


and in verse 30, in the very poetic lines,

Raise a million filters and the rain will not be clean
until the longing for it be refined in deep confession.


Leonard is saying that rain (sorrow?) cannot be purified by the filter of any belief system, only by listening carefully to the heart, and now in this verse he is asking for help to become this confession.

Reminds me of,

Did you confuse the Messiah in a mirror
and rest because he had finally come?
Let me cry Help beside you, Teacher.


Doron and Mat your endurance with the Book of Mercy is impressive. Thanks.
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mat james
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Re: Book of Mercy #46-

Post by mat james »

Greg was one of a kind. We'll all miss him. What a(nother) remarkable thing he did in opening his 'dear friends' thread.
In his last post in this thread, ~greg wrote:
"You" is capitalized at the begining of sentences in the BOOK OF MERCY.
And in exactly one other place.
The last word in poem #17.

Anyone who can explain that
- will win eternal life.


And now, 6 months later, he is gone:-( He must surely be out there in eternity confounding the universe with his dissertations on verse 51 of the Book of Mercy.
Refreshing observation Diane.
Cheers to Greg and his continuing adventures/journey(s).

“I am I, don Quixote
...My destiny calls
and I go.
May the wild winds of fortune
Carry me onward
Whither so-ever they blow
Onward to glory
…..I go !!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

...and, to your comment in this verse:
Help me in the rain,
help me in the darkness
help me at my aimless table
Bend me down to the rain
and let the darkness
speak to my heart.

and in verse 30, in the very poetic lines,

Raise a million filters and the rain will not be clean
until the longing for it be refined in deep confession.

Leonard is saying that rain (sorrow?) cannot be purified by the filter of any belief system, only by listening carefully to the heart, and now in this verse he is asking for help to become this confession
It seems obvious, now that you mention it, that rain is “sorrow”.
I hadn’t quite read it that way, but it fits beautifully.
I tend to associate the “darkness” with being lost in ideas, moving around in never-endings circles of unsatisfactory philosophic internal debate over meaning and purpose. And of course this often fruitless activity ends in a “sorrow” of the mind (as opposed to a sorrow of loss of a loved one).

But sorrow it is.

Words are beautiful. They have such power, when you find the one that fits.

Thanks Diane.

Mat.
"Without light or guide, save that which burned in my heart." San Juan de la Cruz.
Diane

Re: Book of Mercy #46-

Post by Diane »

Cheers, Mat. I am not a font of knowledge like you and Doron; I am merely after an invite to the end of BoM thread party. Words are very powerful, yes aren't they.
moving around in never-endings circles of unsatisfactory philosophic internal debate over meaning and purpose


I thought that was the whole point of this thread? ;-)

Going back to an earlier point of discussion about who the "you" is that Leonard is addressing in BoM - there is another possible "you", other than God, his father, a lover, or himself: death. Read the verse through again, if you will, imagining it as being addressed to death. The death of every moment as well as personal death. The "darkness" could be death. The eyes rolling back to (in) the skull make a strong allusion to death I'd say. (I also feel the "you" in There For You from Dear Heather, is death.) It's a pity a Simon-type person is not here to give a scholarly Buddhist interpretation.
DBCohen
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Re: Book of Mercy #46-

Post by DBCohen »

Mat and Diane,

I’ve been enjoying your exchange. I too miss the Buddhist perspective, but all my attempts to allure Simon back to the discussion have failed so far.

And, Diane, your point about “you” being death is very intriguing. I feel like I need to reexamine LC’s position on death in this book and elsewhere. Like anything else about him, this position is complex and not easily nailed down. I instinctively think of “Here I Am”, but that is a song of old age, of a tiered and unhealthy man almost welcoming death. When writing BoM, LC was only 50 years old, and perhaps more defiant. And when you read the final verse of this prayer - “Create the world again, and stand us up, as you did before, on the foundation of your light” – it’s hard for me to think that he is talking to death, unless you interpret it to mean that he believes in resurrection, and I don’t know that he does.

I’m afraid I’ve already mentioned far too many times the close affinity between BoM and Various Positions, but it’s hard to resist quoting once again in this context some verses from “If It Be Your Will”:
If it be your will,
if there is a choice,
let the rivers fill,
let the hills rejoice.
Let your mercy spill
on all these burning hearts in hell,
if it be your will
to make us well.


And draw us near
and bind us tight,
all your children here
in their rags of light;
in our rags of light,
all dressed to kill;
and end this night,
if it be your will.
If it be your will.
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blonde madonna
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Re: Book of Mercy #46-

Post by blonde madonna »

I still come back to this thread when I want to be reminded of LC’s words. Reading BoM never fails to fill my head with dark images and a confusing mix of feelings.

For me “my aimless table’ is a long way from the alter, a long way from god. Maybe this is what causes despair, maybe not. LC sometimes see himself as being tied to a table in the Tower of Song and I think he knows the ambivalence, the frustration of sitting at a table that encompasses everything in life – eating, drinking, talking, fighting, making love. The things that are necessary for his creativity but that at the same time threaten and distract him from his purpose.

There is also a sense that the rain, the darkness, the pain, the ruin, the chaos is all a necessary part of the creative life.

Could 'You' be Poetry?

Just a thought

BM
the art of longing’s over and it’s never coming back

1980 -- Comedy Theatre, Melbourne
1985 -- State Theatre, Melbourne
2008 -- Hamilton, Toronto, Cardiff
2009 -- Rochford Winery, Yarra Valley
2010 -- Melbourne
2013 -- Melbourne, The Hill Winery, Geelong, Auckland
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mat james
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Re: Book of Mercy #46-

Post by mat james »

Could 'You' be Poetry?
If god is everything; why not?
by your hand it is broken down,
"Without light or guide, save that which burned in my heart." San Juan de la Cruz.
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mat james
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Re: Book of Mercy #46-

Post by mat james »

“…and all things crack that your throne be restored to the heart. You have written your name on the chaos.”
I love these lines.
Tell me why!

Mephistomat
"Without light or guide, save that which burned in my heart." San Juan de la Cruz.
Diane

Re: Book of Mercy #46-

Post by Diane »

Doron wrote: When writing BoM, LC was only 50 years old, and perhaps more defiant. And when you read the final verse of this prayer - “Create the world again, and stand us up, as you did before, on the foundation of your light” – it’s hard for me to think that he is talking to death...
Hi Doron. Buddhist thought is that we die and are reborn at every moment. Leonard's Sasaki Roshi explains the idea of everything constantly being created and then 'returning to zero', and according to Shinzen Young this has a similarity with the Kabbalistic view of God's creative energy (as you already referred to regarding this verse and as described in the lines you quoted above).

Life is a constant succession of the death of things; impermanence is the only certainty (apart from taxes). Consequently, embracing the idea of death - directly addressing it as maybe Leonard is here - restores one to present moment immersion, and that is mercy - it 'establishes the borders of pain'.
The ruins signal your power; by your hand it is broken down, and all things crack that your throne be restored to the heart.
The "throne" of death is life (what else does it sit on?), the fullest experience of which according to Buddhism is wakefulness/watchfulness/presence to the moment.

One other thought: "aimless table" - aimlessness is the aim of zen meditation - you can't reach satori by trying to:-)

BM, the idea that 'you' is poetry reminds me of what Peter Wilberg said - that the poet is the true fundamentalist because he or she taps actual wordless inner knowing rather than merely how it is represented (in philosophy or religion).

It does seem like You is everything, and all at once.

I like those lines too mat, but I don't know quite why, let alone why you do.
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mat james
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Re: Book of Mercy #46-

Post by mat james »

“Help me in the rain, help me in the darkness, help me at my aimless table. Bend me down to the rain, and let the darkness speak to my heart. Blessed are you who speaks from the darkness,”
I have been re-reading “The Cloud of Unknowing” lately.
Several people have mentioned this text/book in relation to Leonard’s work. And while reading the book I am often making notes on the pages that relate to Leonard’s words/works.
Perhaps it is because “The Cloud” is fresh on my mind, or perhaps because it was fresh on Leonard’s mind when he wrote the BOM, but either way Dionysius’ mysticism lurks among the lines of both. And no doubt Dionysius was tumbling around words/symbols that others had drafted before him.
It all goes in…in and in…in never ending spiral…back to unity/God.

As one who loves symbolism in poetry, I love the way they use words like
• Rain
• Water
• Wine
• Darkness
• Cloud
• Unknowing
• Light

And so on.

Take “Water” and its many derivatives (rain, river, lake, ocean, seas, wine…wine symbolises wisdom).
Water seems to represent “ideas”/thoughts, to me.
Streams of thought, oceans of thought:
Rain could be one's own incessant thoughts. The ‘aimless table’ Leonard talks of here is perhaps the space occupied without thought/rain ?
Strangely enough, in the mysticism mentioned above (Dion..) ‘darkness’ is God while God is unknown to the individuals soul. And when God is known to the soul, then God is called ‘Light’.
The use of the words is a reflection of the poet’s position in relation to oneness with God. If there is no oneness/unity, then God is unfathomable darkness. If the poet experiences the spiritual marriage (The Wedding), Unity/communion, (and perhaps satori, Diane) then God is symbolised as light.
This is the language of mysticism and this is the language of Leonard.
So, to summarise, this seems to me to be a particularly telling verse in that Leonard is preparing himself, placing himself, so to speak, in the Dark Night of Soul. He knows that this dark unknowing is “the way”.
“. Blessed are you who speaks from the darkness,”
And, as in other works, if he experiences “the Word”, then …
“Love goes on and on, through an open door, and love itself was gone”
“I’ll try to say a little more…love goes on and on
Then love itself was gone”.
Gone where???
Lover and beloved have morphed into one;
Oneness./Unity/marriage/loving and being loved
“I am Who am.”

It is all very simple really ;-)

Mat.
Last edited by mat james on Fri Dec 11, 2009 3:23 pm, edited 1 time in total.
"Without light or guide, save that which burned in my heart." San Juan de la Cruz.
DBCohen
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Re: Book of Mercy #46-

Post by DBCohen »

Mat,

I’ve enjoyed your recent piece on symbolism and darkness very much. Only one question, though: is it true that “wine symbolises wisdom”? I thought it often symbolises the opposite 8)
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mat james
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Re: Book of Mercy #46-

Post by mat james »

Only one question, though: is it true that “wine symbolises wisdom”? I thought it often symbolises the opposite 8)
Ha!!
Well DB, wine, like thought, is only a problem if one over-indulges.
Jesus, they say, could turn water into wine; he could even walk on water and the bible talks about the "Water of Life."
(I'm not big on miralces, so I look to the mystical interpretation of these lines.)
Turning water into wine: He could take any idea/philosophy and lead it to divinity.
Walking on water: He understood the philosophies/religions of other men...easily
easily comprehending their significance/meaning in the scheeme of things.
...and the "Water of Life"? Union with the "One" and all the beauty that flows from that Union; all that inspires our friend Leonard to sing and get "drunk" on God.
"I fought against the bottle, but I had to do it drunk."

I'm off cruising on my old 77 Kwaka twin for 5 days. I'm rolling "over the broken line, through the humming blue".

Mat.
"Without light or guide, save that which burned in my heart." San Juan de la Cruz.
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Re: Book of Mercy #46-

Post by Simon »

Hi everyone. Thank you for the summons. Even though the impermacence of all things keeps me busy elsewhere, I miss this community.

I have not been here in a long time, but I’m touched by the fact that you kept at it for 3 years now. Surely BoM is a piece of work that deserve this kind of faithful attention.

The beauty of this prayer goes straight to my heart. It would suffice to be touched and stop here and be contempt.

My feeling is that he is summoning “The Source”. His Source, the Source of his inspiration, in the context of his midlife crisis.

Blessings,

Simon


p.s. Certainly, I am nothing close to being a Buddhist scholar
Cohen is the koan
Why else would I still be stuck here
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