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1 " -You know how to call mealthough such a noise nowwould only confuse the airNeither of us can forgetthe steps we dancedthe words you stretchedto call me out of dustYes I long for younot just as a leaf for weatheror vase for handsbut with a narrow human longingthat makes a man refuseany fields but his ownI wait for you at anunexpected place in your journeylike the rusted keyor the feather you do not pick up.--I WILL NEVER FIND THE FACESFOR ALL GOODBYES I'VE MADE.-For Anyone Dressed in MarbleThe miracle we all are waiting foris waiting till the Parthenon falls downand House of Birthdays is a house no moreand fathers are unpoisoned by renown.The medals and the records of abusecan't help us on our pilgrimage to lust,but like whips certain perverts never use,compel our flesh in paralysing trust.I see an orphan, lawless and serene,standing in a corner of the sky,body something like bodies that have been,but not the scar of naming in his eye.Bred close to the ovens, he's burnt inside.Light, wind, cold, dark -- they use him like a bride.I Had It for a MomentI had it for a momentI knew why I must thank youI saw powerful governing men in black suitsI saw them undressedin the arms of young mistressesthe men more naked than the naked womenthe men crying quietlyNo that is not itI'm losing why I must thank youwhich means I'm left with pure longingHow old are youDo you like your thighsI had it for a momentI had a reason for letting the pictureof your mouth destroy my conversationSomething on the radiothe end of a Mexican songI saw the musicians getting paidthey are not even surprisedthey knew it was only a jobNow I've lost it completelyA lot of people think you are beautifulHow do I feel about thatI have no feeling about thatI had a wonderful reason for not merelycourting youIt was tied up with the newspapersI saw secret arrangements in high officesI saw men who loved their worldlinesseven though they had looked throughbig electric telescopesthey still thought their worldliness was seriousnot just a hobby a taste a harmless affectationthey thought the cosmos listenedI was suddenly fearfulone of their obscure regulationscould separate usI was ready to beg for mercyNow I'm getting into humiliationI've lost why I began thisI wanted to talk about your eyesI know nothing about your eyesand you've noticed how little I knowI want you somewhere safefar from high officesI'll study you laterSo many people want to cry quietly beside you "
― Leonard Cohen , Flowers for Hitler
2 " Even without the mushroom cloudstill I would have hatedListenI would have done the same thingseven if there were no deathI will not be held like a drunkardunder the cold tap of factsI refuse the universal alibi "
3 " The day wasn't exactly my ownsince I checkedand found it on a public calendar.Tripping over many pairs of legsas I walked down the parkI also learned my lustwas not so rare a masterpiece. "
4 " I am locked in a very expensive suitold elegant and enduringOnly my hair has been able to get freebut someone has been leavingtheir dandruff in itNow I will tell youall there is to know about optimismEach day in hub cap mirrorin soup reflectionin other people's spectaclesI check my hairfor an army of alpinistsfor Indian rope trick mastersfor tangled aviatorsfor dove and albatrossfor insect suicidesfor abominable snowmenI check my hairfor aerialists of every kindDedicated as an automatic elevatorI comb my hair for possibilitiesI stick my neck outI lean illegally from locomotive windowsand only for the barberdo I wear a hat "
5 " what is most original in a man's nature is often that which is most desperate. thus new systems are forced on the world by men who simply cannot bear the pain of living with what is. creators care nothing for their systems except that they be unique. if Hitler had been born in Nazi Germany he wouldn't have been content to enjoy the atmosphere. "
6 " The first star tonight insanely high, virgin, calm.I have one hour of peace before the documented planets burn me down. "
7 " Love me this first day of June.I'd rather sleep with ashes than priestly wisdom.Of all the lonely places in the world this is best where debris is human.I kiss the precious ashes that fall from fiery flesh.On these familiar shapes I lay my kisses down. "
8 " The most precious secret has been leaked:There is no Opposition! "
9 " My abandoned narcotics have abandoned me. "