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Heading Home

For Leonard Cohen (1934-2016)

By Matthew FratiPublished 7 years ago 1 min read
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We didn’t hear the news of your departure

until three days after you slipped

between the jail bars of this world

and snuck through a crack in the sky.

Now I hear that you predicted

that Trump would win the Presidency,

one last dark flash of prophecy

before the flame was blown out,

one final chirp of warning in the mine

which your family dismissed as nonsense

from your cannabis clouded mind.

You got your hard earned wings a day

before the results came in, as if you caught

the scent of swift change in your curved beak,

felt the first sharp chill of coming winter

in your weary bones and got out ahead of it,

but not before you left us with one more

song of love and hate, one more roadmap

to lead us through the darkness

and guide us to the gate.

For those of us still left behind,

life goes on here in this cage.

The winter came as it always does

and overstayed its cold welcome

and now spring is tuning up again

to the bright call of new songbirds,

but still, I hear your song rising high

above the rest and sometimes when

the night is slow and fallen beneath

its veil of snow, I swear I see your light

flash across the sky, another weary

traveler heading home.

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About the Creator

Matthew Frati

Primarily a poet, but I also write prose. I've self published three books of poetry and a novel. I love and write about all kinds of music, art, literature, films, television and comic books.

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