A Dance at the Table (with Leonard Cohen)

The Thanksgiving table is a lonely one
and the world hostile and forbidding.
Leonard Cohen lies in the churchyard.
I am not kidding.

What am I thankful for?
That the truth is told in the midst of lies.
That the world is cold is no surprise.

What do I owe you and I
besides a tear, besides a sigh?
I pull at my heart till it opens wide.
There is none but thee, now come inside.

The sky falls down.
In water we drown.
The fires burn hot
and that is our lot.

Is redemption near
in the midst of our fear?
It always reigns amidst the pain.

I follow my heart to the ancient table.
I listen again to the old, old fable.
I chance a romance with the world of men and dance with the Christ
that never ends.

Vicki Woodyard