To Leonard Cohen

I'd like to be your back-up band,
please let me play the bongos;
I'll bite a red rose in my teeth
while you do crazy tangos;
or maybe play a mournful sax
while you strum your guitar;
the notes I pull from outer space
will make your words go far;
or can I sing my alto -
please let me state my case -
while your sad voice laments along
in contrapuntal bass;
and later in the backstage,
can we try those funny drugs,
the kind that fry your mind alive
with big black crawly bugs?
I'll lift my skirt for you, babe,
I'll do anything you see,
to make sure your next love song
will be written about me.

Susan L. Helwig
Toronto, ON