Oh chosen love, Oh frozen love
Oh tangle of matter and ghost
Oh darling of angels, demons and saints
And the whole broken-hearted host
Gentle this soul
And come forth from the cloud of unknowing
And kiss the cheek of the moon
The New Jerusalem glowing
Why tarry all night in the ruin
And leave no word of discomfort
And leave no observer to mourn
But climb on your tears and be silent
Like a rose on its ladder of thorns
Oh chosen love, Oh frozen love...
Oh tangle of matter and ghost
Oh darling of angels, demons and saints
Cohen conflates here two mystic Christian images:  Mary as the “mystic rose” or “rose without thorns”  and  Jacob’s ladder , a connection between earth and heaven, seen by Jacob in a dream. 
 

The Window