You want it darker
We **** the flame (L. Cohen)
For Leonard

Now the Orange king is walking
The worshipers crawling along behind
Back slapping with both broken arms
Polishing the gilded chrome

We will spend some time with our faces
Pressed against the wires
Dodging the guards and pepper spray
Hoping for that midnight beauty that still remains
Like music in the freezing rain

Oh Leonard, I need you, I need you, I need you
I need you now




Still the broken bell is hanging in that old tower
The view is clear down to the straits
Where dark water rolls below empty skies

I hear his husky voice behind the silence;
The game is fixed, the dealer lied
Still Alexandra moves ahead of us in such beauty
Sparkling motes floating in the sun

The King in Orange is shouting now
Leading all of them to the land of plenty
Where the pillar of flame guides him
And manna falls from on high
He does not know the tomb is empty
That the ancient heart is broken

In the land of truth
That secret place
The bell is ringing in the old tower
Black birds clustered around the rim

The light is going out of the land
Out on the seas a small light is moving
Struggling towards the fog bank
In the growing dusk, we see his light
We see his light, once more we see the light
Somewhere we hear a red violin
Flooding the darkness with beauty
A king chained to a broken throne whispers "Hallelujah"
And a black woman sings “Peace”
In many languages
The bell rings

Then he is gone
We fall to the ground
Wrapped in our shawls
Soaking the earth with our tears

And the angel said,
“He is not here, the tomb is empty”

Then he is gone
And the secret life is darker
He is gone

G. Gibbens 11/16