Blaze of Glory

Ten years ago today, a day I'll never forget, My phone ringing nonstop with calls and texts from newspapers, radio stations and magazines, all wanting details on where and why and how Leonard Cohen died.
Well, he went out in a blaze of glory. Died with his boots on, after delivering a masterpiece of an album. You Want It Darker is one of his richest, deepest albums in a lifetime of rich, deep and beautiful work.
Leonard sang himself back home in that album. He'd planned to move back to Montreal, where he grew up on the music of the synagogue his ancestors founded and in his teens discovered the poems of Lorca and learned to play guitar.
So often the stories of musicians seem to have less than happy endings. Not Leonard. He left at the top of his game. He didn't linger. He knew darkness, looked it straight in the eye, sometimes laughed about it, sometimes suffered, but always went back to work.
"This world is full of conflicts and things that cannot be reconciled but there are moments", he said, "when we can embrace the whole mess.”
I miss that man. Everything. The whole mess. I'm so grateful to have known him and to have had his friendship and support when he allowed me to write his story, ‘I'm Your Man: The Life of Leonard Cohen.’
(The photo of Leonard using his healing powers on a stuffed cat was taken by Sean Dixon, a friend of Leonard.)