The Next One
Things are better in Milan.
Things are a lot better in Milan.
My adventure has sweetened.
I met a girl and a poet.
One of them was dead
and one of them was alive.
The poet was from Peru
and the girl was a doctor.
She was taking antibiotics.
I will never forget her.
She took me into a dark church
consecrated to Mary.
Long live the horses and the sandles.
The poet gave me back my spirit
which I had lost in prayer.
He was a great man out of the civil war.
He said his death was in my hands
because I was the next one
to explain the weakness of love.
The poet was Cesar Vallejo
who lies at the floor of his forehead.
Be with me now great warrior
whose strength depends solely
on the favours of a woman.
THE NEXT ONE
From the original version of My Life in Art:
I lost my tan in Italy and I got fat on pasta and the starch of loneliness. I must
fast for forty days. Sabina wrote me from the temple in Germany. She said that
the old books say you should fast once each year for the number of days
corresponding to your age. She was on the eight day of an intended twentyeight-
day fast. Also I neglected to twist my feet so the heart went crazy. I must
phone Patricia who was so good to me. The line is busy.
"cover of Greatest Hits was taken in a mirror of a hotel room in Milan - I rarely
ever look this good, or bad, depending on your politics"
Autor(es): Leonard Cohen
