I have been listening to Leonard Cohen's music since 1968.  I used to live in his neighborhood in Montreal, and we crossed paths in the very early hours of the morning in a diner.  He seemed to be in worse shape than me which was quite an accomplishment in those days.  We both pursued Buddhist studies, and meditated for many years on different mountains, he in California, me in Scotland and Spain.  After monkhood he hooked up with an exotic Hawaiian jazz singer many years younger than him;  I hooked up with a Spanish jazz singer many years younger than me.  I think we are both on our own once again.  There have been many curious parallels in our lives.  I see him as a very special person, an accomplished and humble spiritual seeker.  He is 82 and his impending departure from our stage (probably before mine) sparked this poem a few years ago.