First of all

First of all nothing will happen

and a little later

nothing will happen again

A family will pass by in the night

speaking of the children’s bedtime 

That will be the signal

for you to light a cigarette

Then comes a delicate moment 

when the backwoods men

gather around the table 

to discuss your way of life

Dismiss them with a glass of

cherry juice 

Your way of life has been over 

for many years 

The moonlit mountains

surround your heart 

and the Anointed One

with his bag and stick

can be picked out on a path

He is probably thinking of what

you said

in the schoolyard 100 years ago

This is a dangerous moment 

that can plunge you into silence 

for a million years 

Fortunately the sound of clarinets 

from a wandering klezmer

ensemble

drifts into the kitchen 

Allow it to distract you

from your cheerless meditation 

The refrigerator will go into

second gear 

and the cat will climb onto the 

windowsill

For no reason at all 

you will begin to cry

Then your tears will dry up

and you will ache for a companion

I will be that companion

At first nothing will happen to us

and later on

it will happen to us again

--Leonard Cohen