Book of Longing - Leonard Cohen 2006

"I was struck on the head by an atheist. I never recovered my sense of confidence."
- The Luckiest Man in the World

"We are moving into a period of bewilderment, a curious moment in which people find light in the midst of despair, and vertigo at the summit of their hopes. It is a religious moment also, and here is the danger. People will want to obey the voice of Authority, and many strange constructs of just what Authority is will arise in every mind."
- Moving into a Period

I look through His eyes
as the helpless are shit on again
and the tender blooming nipple of mankind
is caught in the pincers
of power and muscle and money -
why should I seek enlightenment?
- The Collapse of Zen

Put away your courage
Haven't you noticed
how the thugs
and the blood-drinkers
are drawn to your courage
It is a provocation
in their sight

Give it back to the rocks
to the mud
to that which supports the mud
End this ugly experiment
with the human heart
- Unbecoming

Stand there
in the vanity
of your solitude
Summon the short-lived tears
the shallow laughter
the comforts
that obey your suffering
that embrace your defeat
- Unbecoming

I was not meant
to be renown
in the present
market town,

but in the future
some may find
What might be used
to change a mind

from slaughter
in the name of peace
to honouring
complexities,

and thus influence
politics
with deeper balance
deeper checks.
- All My News

even though he
was built to see
the world this
way, he was also
built to
disregard, to be
free of the way
he was built
to see the world
- A Private Gaze