The first note - how you found LC and how it affected you

[Iubita]

How it has happened to me?...
nothing unusual, but I'll remember this first time forever...something touch me very deep...and it was not only His Voice, but also His Soul and Pain..
I can never forget this morning when my cousin called me for a coffee at his home and surprised me with the latest LC's CD-"Ten new songs"...it was my first time when I've heard Him...and I've felt that I can not stop listen His music...
so, "the Black Magic" has touched me for fair...
as newcomers, coming from Eastern Europe it was our first touch to His amazing music and lirics...we spent the whole day listening and repeating the songs one after another...and we couldn't stop...after we started to look everywhere for some other CDs, books coming from Him... we became addicted as too many others...))
and after a while, because of Him I've started to write poems and to express my soul... despite of that my English is very poor ...
and I am very greatful, because the time with Him is always Great...
so, once I wrote to the Author of the Blessing Songs:

[In the house of Mercy
I pray for my love.
In the house of Mystery
I pray for the future.
In the house of Love
I pray for the world.
In the house of the Blessing Songs
I pray for Cohen and my poems.
And when I think
about my inspiration
and Leonard Cohen's creations,
Thank God
for my meeting
with them...]

Thank you, Leonard...for everything you are giving me...
with all my Heart and Love,

Iubita

[MBsky]

Hi everyone!

Finding Leonard...hmmm...it was somewhere in 90-91, whenever they began playing Closing Time....I was hooked! At the time I was freshly divorced and working on my version of truth and a writing career! I heard Leonard and knew he was there...so listened and followed...a great source of comfort and inspiration for me at that time.

[lizzytysh]

Hi MBsky ~

"....working on my version of truth".....you may have meant that in regard to being a writer, or in regard to your divorce, but it definitely resonates with me in regard to mine. So many things get said and questioned that the lines begin to blur between what's truth and what's not. It's only later that you really sort all that out. Of course, when I say "you," I mean me. As already said elsewhere, Leonard has been there for me through all my hard times, since knowing he graces this earth.

Welcome to the Forum .

~ Lizzytysh

[MBsky]

Thanks for the welcome Lizzytysh..........yes, many things were happening at that time......truth in respect to both divorce and writing. It was an uncovering...peeling back layers of debris...and looking bit by bit at the "not so nice things", within myself and life in general. You start listening to LC and you can't help but investigate further! Of course there was other music, influences that affected this...but I played LC like a mantra.

[lizzytysh]

So did I......as my former husband introduced me to Leonard only very briefly prior to our parting. I figured it was in regard to your writing, and suspected that maybe it included your divorce, as well. Yes, you're right, Leonard's writing makes introspection a compelling endeavour.

[lizzytysh]

There you are, Iubita! I've been trying to get back to you to tell you how charmed I am by your story ~ and your use of the English language. I've never quite been able to figure it out enough to "analyze" it, but so often those for whom English is not their first language, bring to their expression in English a certain kind of freshness and purity that often seems to reach deeper with what they say than we [who have always used it] are able to.

Perhaps we've become so used to the generalized and slang way of saying things that those really gem words are rarely placed together in expressing ourselves. I've been very struck by your poems and now by the way you describe your first day with Leonard. I just wanted you to know, but haven't had time to get back to tell you.

~ Elizabeth

[John the Shorts]

Shwmae MBsky (The rhyme is unintentional it is not an attempt at poetry)

I hope you enjoy your stay on the board.

JTS

[tom.d.stiller]

MBsky,

Welcome to the forum, to this craziest and loveliest bunch of Beautiful Losers there is. Please enjoy and feel at home.

Tom

[Coco]

I add my welcome to the both of you - Iubita and MBsky. May you enjoy this board as much as I have done thus far.

[MBsky]

Thankyou JTS, Tom and Coco for the welcome! It's great to be in the company of such Beautiful Losers One thing tho JTS....does schwmae (sp?) mean welcome or hello?

[Iubita]

Elizabeth,
thanks a lot for your very nice wellcome...you've made me extremelly happy answering me...and you are giving me a lot of courage with your warm words...Thank you again
I feel like I am coming Home...the Home of the Beautiful Losers where possibly I've always belonged to...
and once long time ago...before even to know that the "BL" is a book, but not a song, I wrote:

Our love life is like
a chess game.
Sometimes I play
with the white,
you are the black.
After we turn back...
And if you'd like
always to be a winner
I'll be "the Beautiful Loser"
from my favorite Cohen's music...

it was so funny...

Thank you Coco, Tom, John, Georges and everyone else who wrote me for wellcome back Home...
now you know why I am enjoying a lot to be here with you....

Iubita

[lizzytysh]

Dear Iubita ~

What great use of the term "the Beautiful Loser" ~ your poem ~ and love and chess ~ I played the game with the one I love and always lost.....had I thought to deem myself "the Beautiful Loser," I really would have won .....it would have been an ironic twist that even he couldn't have resisted.

I'm glad you're liking it here and feel welcome, and yes, it is like coming home, isn't it? I don't know if there's a posting minimum or what, but I would sure love to see your photo in the Beautiful Losers section of Jarkko's site. The nature of your postings just seem to fit your being there.

Thank you for sharing your sweet, Leonard-inspired poem with us. Going down to defeat so beautifully .

~ Elizabeth

[lizzytysh]

Incidentally, Iubita, I didn't mean to put you on the spot with my Beautiful-Losers-section suggestion. Please forgive me if I did. You may not want your photo posted anywhere, period. It just seemed such divine providence, with your chess poem and other postings related/dedicated to Leonard. There are certainly others here who belong there. They just didn't happen to write such an innocently ironic poem that got me thinking in that direction !

~ Elizabeth

[Cohen Knight]

My dad use to play Mr. Cohen's music in the car all the time when I was younger. His wife had gotten him a tape of "The Future" and it was always in the backround on those drives we'd take around town on the weekends. Since my folks were divorced I didn't get to see him much. But every other Saturday became very special to me because I'd get to see my dad, & at the same time to listen to Mr. Cohen's music in the car.

At 12 or 13 you can't really pick up on the depth & scope of those words, but my dad spoke to me like an adult and helped me understand those songs he sang. Even at 13 it didn't take very long to fall in love with the melodie's & how the words seemed to put you very much at ease with yourself. Its a beautiful feeling. Maybe this is just me, but having Mr. Cohen's music in my life at such a young age. Put me on a road & simply where that road was going was up to me. But the fact is his music did a lot of good.

In this moment in time now I'm 17, and Mr. Cohen is 67 I believe. Despite the great differences in age. Making a connection wasn't as hard as some of you guys might think. After hearing Mr. Cohen's new album it still puts a smile on my face seeing him create, produce art which is new & beautiful . When I grow old things will be a lot different. But being able to share in something with my kids, and my friends like this. Will be absolutely amazing. And this I thank Mr. Cohen for. Like I'm sure many of us do who take part in this forum. It's easy the see the beauty in a bunch of people sharing in music. This is just something I wanted to share with the gang of people here. Thanks again!!!
Mike

The old men 'round here, sometimes they get
On bad terms with the younger men
But old, young, age don't carry weight
It doesn't matter in the end
-Bob Dylan

[lizzytysh]

Thank you for your lovely posting, Mike. It's encouraging to see your kind of sensibility and sensitivity at your age. Leonard will be 70 on September 21, 2004, but you're still close ~ you definitely got his age bracket right, which was all you needed to make your excellent and appreciated point .

You've already aligned yourself with a very positive influence for your life and are already experiencing the benefits. I agree with you on the exquisite beauty of Ten New Songs. It can be staggering to consider how things may be by the time you have children. One of the many beauties of Leonard's writing is that it intentionally is crafted and designed to span the years. I have no doubt that it will be as appropriate then as it is now ~ and that even though their Dad may foist his music upon them, your children may well come to love Leonard as you do.

Great thoughts from a young man of 17! Great quote from Dylan, too .

I'm glad you are able and inclined to join us

~ Elizabeth