“Poetry is just the evidence of life. If your life is burning well, poetry is just the ash.”
“
DEAR DIARY You are greater than the Bible And the Conference of the Birds And the Upanishads All put together You are more severe Than the Scriptures And Hammurabi’s Code More dangerous than Luther’s paper Nailed to the Cathedral door You are sweeter Than the Song of Songs Mightier by far Than the Epic of Gilgamesh And braver Than the Sagas of Iceland I bow my head in gratitude To the ones who give their lives To keep the secret The daily secret Under lock and key Dear Diary I mean no disrespect But you are more sublime Than any Sacred Text Sometimes just a list Of my events Is holier than the Bill of Rights And more intense
“
More to explore
More quotes by Leonard Cohen
“It was a dance of masks and every mask was perfect because every mask was a real face and every face was a real mask so there was no mask and there was no face for there was but one dance in which there was but one mask but one true face which was the same and which was a thing without a name which...”
“I've forgotten most of what I've read and, frankly, it never seemed very important to me or to the world.”
“Deprivation is the mother of poetry.”
Discover more literary gems
Explore over 387,000 quotes from your favorite books and authors.
Browse All Quotes