My friend Henry Denander
who owns a place on the island,
told me how to get there
when my girlfriend and I
visited last summer.
His directions included things like,
turn right, go 50 meters,
and pass the carpenter's shop
with the very sweet dog;
then turn left, go 100 meters,
and pass the other carpenter's shop
with the other very sweet dog.
�Will you be picking any flowers
over Leonard's garden wall?� Henry asked.
I hadn't even thought of it.
My girlfriend took a picture of me
posing at Leonard's front door.
Inside, through an open window,
we could hear a little boy talking.
Henry said it was probably
Leonard's grandchild since his son
sometimes stayed there.
Four months later,
the news of Leonard's death
would make me pluck the flower
from between the pages
of The Book of Longing
where I'd placed it
after I got home.
Leonard Cohen’s House on Hydra by Clint Margrave | Poetry Fabric Box
$15.00Price
Clint Margrave is the author of the poetry collections Salute the Wreckage, The Early Death of Men, and Visitor. He is also the author of the novel Lying Bastard. His work has appeared in The Threepenny Review, The Sun, Rattle, and the Los Angeles Review of Books, among others. He lives in Los Angeles, CA., USA.
