window/wooden-framed
picture/brown/beige/bed/lamp/desk
solitudely barren
by ~Gregg Rowe~
window/wooden-framed
picture/brown/beige/bed/lamp/desk
solitudely barren
window/wooden-framed
picture/brown/beige/bed/lamp/desk
solitudely barren
Author notes
I am listening to CBC One, our classical Canadian Broadcasting Corporation Radio Station. It is August 6th, 2005 and I am up North in Quebec building my roommate's and my dream house. Today we are raising the roof and as I am 60 feet up in the air attaching rafters, the radio station is playing a special on \Leonard Cohen's fixation on the use of the colour and shades of brown and why he has a habit of name-dropping hotels. Listening on a sunny afternoon to an interview with Leonard Cohen and his fixations, while raisng the roof was an afternoon to be thoroughly savoured. To hear his poetry cited, recited, and his descriptions of browness and bareness associated with hotel rooms was a poetic afternoon experience. The words used in this poem are the words that were most often dialogued throughout the one-hour program through listening to poems of Leonard, his interviews and the critics. I just juxtaposed them into a haiku. Ironically, the name of the host program doing the interviewing was called Not the Opera or NTO.
Leonard Cohen's use of the many shades of brown in his poetry, he claims, his his bare mind that is barren and that his best poetry has always been written in seedy hotel rooms, thus he combines both themes in his poetry.
Perhaps the poem is private, but the afternoon is meant to be shared. 
Gregg
Written August 8th, 2005
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Comments
1 - 18 of 18
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Dear Gregg,
I admire your haiku/senryu and enjoyed reading your Author's comment because, if I retrace our steps by just a few months, the evident improvement in your health is as remarkable as your building achievement.
I hope Mr. Cohen gets to read your words of praise if only in one of his bare, brown, hotel rooms (yes, in NZ our hotel rooms are, almost without exception, uniformly beige - I believe it's our national colour for tourists.)
Keep up the health-improvement, buddy!
Applause, best wishes and regards. Hugh. -
Dear Gregg, my Canadian
I love Leonard Cohen, you have praised him and his work wonderfully. I have a vision of you putting the walls and roofup, listening to him on the radio. Wonderful Gregg.
Love from
Your Aussie sisterjoan
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Albert: You have no idea how much I wanted a hot shower after everyday of labouring lovingly on this dream project of Alain and I. In the past two-and-a-half weeks, we went from the foundation to raising the four walls with its 16 perculiar angles, and finally the raisingg of the roof. And there was only four of us working everyday. A project from the bottom up and when the last rafter G-20 FINI was placed and nailed, at eight o'clock Sunday night we stood on the country road as the sun settled and just marvelled and awed at our creation. I am darker, oilier, and tried not to wear a shirt (though I love the image) because I wanted to get suntanned. My favorite line was: his hair a total mess as he struggled with the elements with all Canada stretched out before him as he balanced like a Russian ballet dancer defying gravity because it was a wonderful experience to be so high in the sky and look at the mountains stretching acrosss our vast land and the valleys below. Two years from Sunday, we have committed the date to the Grand Opening and the finished project. I hope you write that poem you so vividly described. Gregg
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wow that is very diiferebt i love it everyone has there ow way of expressing and i find this an awsome way to express love it ttyl bye
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I really enjoyed all of this, but not being a poetry . . .specialiser - Haiku is not my scene ( Im just a clumsy lifelong amateur ) consequently I must admit I very much enjoyed the image conjured up in Greggs notes more I could see him balanced high up on the rafters of a yet to be completed house . . the wind ripping at his open necked shirt as it gusted against his chest ( forgetting the sunny afternoon) his hair a total mess as he struggled with the elements with all Canada stretched out before him as he balanced like a Russian ballet dancer defying gravity . . . There is so much imagery that I am almost tempted to write a poem about the joys and challenges of building a dream house - Albert.
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I'm a fan of your poetry, but this is not what I expect from you! I have always found LC to be utterly dreadful and monotonous. Never mind, I enjoy lobsters from the St Lawrence.
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It is good to view into someone elses life at times. I know mine has some odd moments. I wonder if people understand me at times. I think it is wonderful when they figure me out. This shows part of you.
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This is may pass more as a senryu or nice sentiments in ku form. I like the thought behind the piece. It's an interesting read. Nice to have a glass of wine to relax.
~Dee -
Well thank you for making aware of this poet. I have never heard of him and I think that would be interesting and creative to describe the color brown in verse. This is very unique and thank you for sharing it.
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I like to say it's a browny. A most original way to honour such a great poet writer and singer. I am jalous about the way you got this attentioned. Think gonna play some of his brown music now.
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This is such a unique Piece, you most certainly did well
with it! For it did make me smile with my soul and I appreciate you for featuring it!
ICUlookn
Edited on Aug 08, 5:39 p.m. because ''. -
Leonard Cohen i love his music
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Ok, this kind of ummmm i wont say unique cuz that means i got nothing to say so i say it was marvelous!! great job!! i loved this great job!!
lots of hugs and kisses GND -
this is unique. i didn't understand it, but i appreciated it.
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Ummm... it's unique.
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i like the starkness--i picture this haiku floating in the middle of a dark and still pond.
By the way, you look familiar, gregg. (but I dont think i know you) -
brown is a good shirt color.. and btw i love Leonard Cohen... and good write
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Well, I'm not sure it moves me very much, but it sure is unique. Brown is a wonderful color for shirts. (random)
Peace
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