This morning I was dressed by the wind.
The sky said close your eyes and run
this happy face into a sundrift.
The forest said, never mind, I am as old
as an emerald, walk into me gossiping.
The village said, I am perfect and intricate,
would you like to start right away?
My darling said, I am washing my hair in the water
we caught last year, it tastes of stone.
This morning I was dressed by the wind,
it was the middle of September in 1965.
This poem comes from the book above, first published in 1969 with my copy bought in 1970. It is a mixture of ‘classical’ poetry, occasional doggerel, some that is playful, some experimental, much that is passionate, and also, as a poem, Suzanne Takes You Down. Sad to say I haven’t read for a while and have revisited today on the news of Leonard Cohen’s death.