One of many possible reactions to Dear Heather

[Sue]

The bats are in the belfry
the icing's on the cake
and Leonard plays the keyboard now
to keep himself awake
(to keep himself awake)

Oh, but why that sinking feeling
the buck is truly passed
the deckchairs hit the ceiling
and the bar can close at last

The room is still unfurnished
the words are from the heart
just use it like a dictionary
until it falls apart
(until it falls apart)

But where is the naked instrument
the window and the moon
the seven-branched banana skin
she fell upon too soon?

Gone with the sinking feeling
the mirror and the glass
the deckchairs hit the ceiling
and the bar can close at last.

[Steven]

Sue,

Nice poem. Seems that there is some separation anxiety expressed
in this "possible reaction to Dear Heather." My own reaction was
different, in that I breathed through initial and subsequent listenings
to it, with (probably inaudible) sighs of relief for Leonard Cohen. I'm
pleased to hear what I take to be some areas of personal
resolution, clarity (and plain old making peace with or acceptance,
if you will) of stuff that he'd previously struggled with. I don't
find his product here to be less artful or truthful. I recognize
what I take to be a trepidation with change conveyed well in your
poem. Were Dear Heather to be disingenuous to Leonard's personal
experience, I'd share some or a lot of your feelings. But, as a
very long time listener to his music, I personally don't hear,
in any way, that the "buck is truly passed." I do sense greater
ease and am glad for him.

[Sue]

I think you took the thing more seriously than it was meant, so I guess it fails as a comic piece. I don't dislike Dear Heather and some of it is superb, but even the songs I like can be hard to listen to. There is an elegaic sadness about the whole set (I find) which tends to take you down paths you would rather not go down. Perhaps that's what I was getting at with "the buck is truly passed". You could say a lot of Cohen's earlier work has been of the 'me, me, me' type. Now there is a feeling that it has all really been about something else (which is a kind of way of passing the buck - since some degree of personal responsibility/liability is removed?) There is also a strong feeling I get of the buck (the last word, the final judgement if you like, or even the need to do something) being passed to the listener, someone or something else, you out there, which I get from lines like:

I wouldn't know
I'm just holding the fort

or even

Tho' you are singing somewhere still
I can no longer hear you

and which was already there in lines like

I'm just staying home tonight
getting lost in that lonely little screen

Things like that are what I meant by passing the buck, certainly nothing derogatory or negative in the sense of "I wash my hands of it all". Just that it's gone.

[Steven]

Hi Sue,

Reading the first line of your response did have a "comic" aspect
to me, in that I thought I may have completely missed the ball
in interpreting your poem. -- This possibility was funny and I laughed
at myself. But, despite not taking it as a "comic piece," or because
I "took the thing more seriously than it was meant," I still stand (or sit)
by the statement: "Nice poem."

Is the breakthrough quality of less self-absorptive relationship to
the world (less " ' me, me, me' ") really a reflection of a diminishment
of "personal responsibility/liability"? Or, to the contrary, might it
not be indicative of a heightened ability to see and act engendered
by clearer perspective? (No need to answer, just thought it
appropriate to put the questions out.)

To the degree that people relate to any artist's personal transformation,
by way of their creative output, it is possible for the shift to
be conveyed to them, and, yes, you said it beautifully, in this
regards, as "the buck is truly passed." -- I get it now; thanks for the
clarification.

[Sue]

Hi Steven
I'm glad you wrote again and I do thank you for not pointing out that I misquoted "hopeless little screen" as "lonely little screen". My TV, too, has a hopelessly small screen so I should have known.

[mirrormist]

Hi

the first verse stanza raised a chuckle...also, I enjoyed the image of the deckchair in particular...thanks:)