POPULAR PROBLEMS
by Greg Santos
What the hell am I doing?
Sometimes overproduce
Something’s obscure
On the wrong side of accessible
Savage about our vision
You can pretty well tell
It nourishes me
It’s the done-ness of it that I really like
There’s always a group I’m working at
There’s a few I’d like to finish before I die
Always like a bear in a honey tree
In some corner of the heart
It’s a lovely melody
That I can’t find any words for
SOURCE: “Leonard Cohen on Longevity, Money, Poetry and Sandwiches” by Gavin Edwards, Rolling Stone (September 19, 2014).
IMAGE: Leonard Cohen by Graham Denholm, ALL RIGHTS RESERVED.
NOTE FROM THE AUTHOR: This poem was created using snippets from an interview with Leonard Cohen from Rolling Stone, prior to the launch of his new album Popular Problems and his 80th birthday. I’d like to think of this poem as an homage to the mastery of Cohen and the mystery of poetry.
ABOUT THE AUTHOR: Greg Santos is the author of Rabbit Punch! (DC Books, 2014) and The Emperor’s Sofa (DC Books, 2010). He holds an MFA in Creative Writing from The New School. He is a graphic designer, teaches creative writing to at-risk youth, and is the poetry editor for carte blanche. He lives in Montréal with his wife and two children. Follow him on Twitter at @moondoggyspad.
Silver Birch Press 