I came to You with sorrow –
You said, “Come to me with bread”.
I could not make a living –
You employed me with the dead.
I chose the marble chambers –
But You sent me down below.
You kept me from believing
Until You let me know:
That I am not the one who loves –
It’s Love that seizes me!
When hatred with his package comes,
You forbid delivery.
And when the hunger for Your touch
rises from the hunger,
You whisper, “Child, you’ve loved enough,
now let Me be the Lover”.
Hydra, 2000
Copyright © 1999, 2000 by Leonard Cohen.
All rights reserved.
Republished here with Leonard Cohen’s permission.