This is a single simple moment that brought me much happiness

I have been needing happiness lately. It's been impossible to shake the weight of the shadow on my back, a constant reminder that I am, too, a shadow- without worth, without use- but also there is the frustration that is carried alongside that melancholy. The words that are mine, not that of my malicious bedfellows. You don't know me. You do not know me. In the company of those who do know me, there is no shadow. I am someone worth something. There is something worthwhile here.

Leonard Cohen Tribute

I didn't listen to a vast quantity of Leonard Cohen songs while he was alive, nor have I listened to that nany more since I heard the news of his passing, but I have for a few years owned a book of his written word- poems and songs written as poems- that was a gift from my stepbrother one Christmas (accompanied by two other books of poetry- I remember being incredibly happy with such an amazing and well-suited present). But the other night, with James and his younger brother Tristan, both of whom are quite devoted fans of Leonard Cohen, I recorded his 'Hallelujah' and here it is.