Happens to the Heart, una poesia in regalo da Leonard Cohen

Da qualche giorno circola in rete ‘Happens to the Heart’, una poesia che Leonard Cohen ha datato 24 giugno 2016  e pubblicato in anteprima il 25 agosto su LeonardCohenFiles da Jarrko Arjatsalo.

Il testo è complesso e molto ben strutturato. Si tratta di otto strofe da otto versi ciascuna (tutte terminanti in ‘What happens to the heart’) più una ripresa di quattro versi finale. A una prima lettura, sembrerebbe una specie di ‘riepilogo’ della vita sentimentale di Cohen, senza però riferimenti esatti a fatti e persone – una circostanza questa certo inconsueta per il poeta, da sempre avvezzo ad aprirsi senza alcun velo ai suoi lettori.

Man mano che ci addentreremo nella lettura, anche grazie alla crescente comunità di LeonardCohen.it, vi proporremo un’interpretazione – ammesso che ce ne sia una!

Se nel frattempo volete aiutarci anche voi, lasciate un commento con le vostre idee e noi ne terremo conto! :)

Buona lettura!

HAPPENS TO THE HEART

I was always working steady
But I never called it art
I was funding my depression 
Meeting Jesus reading Marx
Sure it failed my little fire
But it’s bright the dying spark
Go tell the young messiah
What happens to the heart 

There’s a mist of summer kisses
Where I tried to double-park
The rivalry was vicious
And the women were in charge
It was nothing, it was business
But it left an ugly mark
So I’ve come here to revisit
What happens to the Heart

I was selling holy trinkets
I was dressing kind of sharp
Had a pussy in the kitchen
And a panther in the yard
In the prison of the gifted
I was friendly with the guard
So I never had to witness
What happens to the Heart

I should have seen it coming
You could say I wrote the chart
Just to look at her was trouble
It was trouble from the start
Sure we played a stunning couple
But I never liked the part
It ain’t pretty, it ain’t subtle
What happens to the Heart

Now the angel’s got a fiddle
And the devil’s got a harp
Every soul is like a minnow
Every mind is like a shark
I’ve opened every window
But the house, the house is dark
You give in and then it’s simple
What happens to the heart

I was always working steady
But I never called it art
The slaves were there already
The singers chained and charred
Now the arc of justice bending
And the injured soon to march
I got this job defending
What happens to the Heart

I studied with this beggar
He was filthy he was scarred
By the claws of many women
He had failed to disregard
No fable here no lesson
No singing meadow lark
Just a filthy beggar blessing
What happens to the heart

I was always working steady
But I never called it art
I could lift, but nothing heavy
Almost lost my union card
I was handy with a rifle
My father’s 303
We fought for something final
Not the right to disagree

Sure it failed my little fire
But it’s bright the dying spark
Go tell the young messiah
What happens to the heart

June 24, 2016

4 commenti
  1. Erminia
    Erminia says:

    Adoro e ammiro Cohen da sempre, per me , non c’è data per la sua morte lui è e sará Immortale
    Ci ha lasciato Poesia e con Essa un patrimonio per Tutti noi , Umanità Intera ……..
    Perciò ti ringraziamo Fratello del Mondo
    Erminia Ciccaglione

    Rispondi
  2. luca colombo
    luca colombo says:

    Entusiasmante,questo è ol vero Cohen che preferisco per la sua profondita’ e la sua autenticità,grazie Adam
    Fulvia

    Rispondi

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