Teachers

I met a woman long ago
Her hair the black that black can go
Are you a teacher of the heart
Soft she answered No

I met a girl across the sea
Her hair the gold that gold can be
Are you a teacher of the heart
Yes but not for thee

I met a man who lost his mind
In some lost place I had to find
Follow me the wise man said
But he walked behind

I walked into a hospital
Where none was sick and none was well
When at night the nurses left
I could not walk at all

Morning came
And then came noon
Dinner time a scalpel blade
Lay beside my spoon

Some girls wander by mistake
Into the mess that scalpels make
Are you the teachers of my heart
We teach old hearts to break

One morning I woke up alone
The hospital and the nurses gone
Have I carved enough, my Lord
Child, you are a bone

I ate and ate and ate
I did not miss a plate
How much do these suppers cost
We'll take it out in hate

I spent my hatred every place
On every work on every face
Someone gave me wishes
And I wished for an embrace

Several girls embraced me, then
I was embraced by men
Is my passion perfect
No, do it once again

I was handsome, I was strong
I knew the words of every song
Did my singing please you
No, the words you sang were wrong

Who is it whom I address
Who takes down what I confess
Are you the teachers of my heart
We teach old hearts to rest

Teachers are my lessons done
I cannot do another one
They laughed and laughed and laughed and said
Well child, are your lessons done
Are your lessons done

Leonard Cohen