joan of arc

now the flames they followed joan of arc
says leonard cohen
in his darkest voice
with his coldest metal
hands


and who chooses to
alienate themselves
so entirely?


and who chooses to
burn for schitzophrenic
visions?


but they must have been
the most real things,
to her,
the most real things--


the loneliest girl in the park
feeding the ducks
with no pretty face
and no charm-bracelet lover
linked to her arm


just joan the virgin
all alone
and nothing bright
in the sky