On Rare Occasions Leonard Cohen

On rare occasions
the power was given me
to send waves of emotion
through the world.
These were impersonal events,
over which I had no control.
I climbed on the outdoor stage
as the sun was going down
behind the Tower of Toledo
and the people did not let me go
until the middle of the night.
All of us,
the musicians, the audience,
were dissolved in gratitude.
There was nothing but
the starry darkness,
the smell of fresh cut hay,
and a hand of wind caressing
every single forehead.
I don't even remember the music.
A wide unison whispering arose
which I didn't understand.
When I left the stage
I asked the promoter
what they were saying.
He said they were chanting:
to-re-ro, to-re-ro
A young woman drove me back to the hotel,
a flower of the race.
All the windows were rolled down.
It was a ride free from error.
I could not feel the road
or the pull of destination.
We didn't speak
and there was no question of her
entering the lobby,
or climbing to my room.
Only recently
I remembered that drive of long ago,
and since then,
I need to be weightless
But I never am.