The Man Who Dreams of Leonard Cohen
Posted: Sat Sep 14, 2013 1:09 am
This is NOT my poem. I just came across it and translated it. The author is Jose Ángel González from Spain. The original poem, in Spanish, is at the link.
The man who dreams of Leonard Cohen
9/13/2013
the man who dreams of Leonard Cohen
can say hallelujah in several languages
admires the elemental clothes of the nomads
is willing to vindicate the calvary of concealment
the man who dreams of Leonard Cohen
knew you before you were born
thought of you while naming Lorca
thought of you while reading the Torah
the man who dreams of Leonard Cohen
vanishes in the sigh
for the absent children
the boys he left
the man who dreams of Leonard Cohen
seeks evidence against the calendar
on the charge of violating
the scripture of the hands
the man who dreams of Leonard Cohen
was a partisan in a hotel at war
because rented rooms too
need to be liberated
the man who dreams of Leonard Cohen
burned his knees with vodka
to knit a handkerchief
of fiery flesh
the man who dreams of Leonard Cohen is
in love with the woman who dreams of Björk ***
[Leonard Cohen. Elegance always wears black.]- See more at:
http://joseangelgonzalez.com/leonard-co ... 5aP0N.dpuf
) and he was kind enough to say that he was "100% satisfied" with my version. I tried to stick as closely in meaning to the original as I could, which of course is much easier when it's free verse and you don't have to worry about meter or rhyme.