A Writing Based on the 2nd Verse of Hallelujah

Mary Beth Buchner 2^nd part of Essay 4

Advanced Writing 4-5-11

Based on my Reflections on the Song entitled, Hallelujah, lyrics written by Leonard Cohen and sung by Jeff Buckley

Lyrics – Second Verse

Well your faith was strong but you needed proof
You saw her bathing on the roof
Her beauty and the moonlight overthrew you

She tied you to her kitchen chair
She broke your throne and she cut your hair
And from your lips, she drew the Hallelujah

I was told by a number of people that possibly the first part of this verse describes David’s temptation with Bethsheba and the second part relates to Samson and Delilah.

Both these biblical stories deal with such topics as love, lust, obsession, desire, beauty, fighting temptation, succumbing to temptation, power, falling from grace and redemption.

At age 66 I have to come to see that all human beings struggle with these above mentioned things. When I was young I saw things more dogmatically - in black and white – but as I aged and experienced many things on a more personal level, I realized that there are a lot more gray areas and there is a great need for forgiveness and redemption for myself and for others.

So here is a little “story” related to Verse 2 of Hallelujah.

Please note: This essay is a work of fiction and therefore characters, places and incidents are products of the author’s imagination. Any resemblance to actual events or locales or persons, living or dead, is entirely coincidental.

Temptations are everywhere. This one started on a night that is typically very festive, New Year’s Eve. She was dressed in a short, clingy silver sheath, one that was completely covered in sparkling sequence that glistened and dazzled as she entered the room. The lights were already muted and candles were glowing on each elegantly set circular table, creating a soft, subtle, sensuous atmosphere in the room. The bar was open and glamorously dressed couples were already standing around in small groups talking and laughing, while they sipped their cocktails and periodically, inconspicuously moved their heads from side to side searching for their friends among the arriving guests. After checking her coat and walking towards some familiar faces, she could feel the energy and she knew immediately she was much too geared up for excitement. She was teetering on the brink and this could easily be the wind that sent her over the edge. She was bored by the mundane predictable existence of a stay-at-home wife and mother. Being intelligent, well educated, middle aged and comfortably married with nothing more stimulating in her life than changing diapers, cleaning toilets and babbling to babies, she had just walked into a set-up for disaster. She knew he was going to be there, he was one of their circle of friends, albeit to her, the most important link in the circle. It gave the entire evening so much more meaning and it changed almost everything about her. Earlier in the evening as she looked into her bathroom mirror, she took great pains applying her make-up, making certain that every single aspect was as perfect as she could make it. Her hair had to be perfect also; the tiniest flaw and she would re-wash and style it over again. No, this was not the time to being experiencing “a bad hair day”. Picking the dress was another obsessive endeavor. It had to be form-fitting and sexy, because even at 38, her figure was still rather impressive and one of her best features.

A cocktail, then two allowed any of her remaining inhibitions to flow swiftly behind her. Now the meal was being served and it was time for her to choose a seat at the groups’ table. Wait until he sits, she thinks and she stalls for a minute so she can see where he will be seated. Then she stops again briefly as she wonders, will it be better to sit where our eyes can meet or where our arms and legs might touch? The table is filling up quickly so she hurriedly sits in the vacant seat directly across from him. Their eyes meet momentarily and she knows that he knows; it is obvious that he feels the electricity too.

How can I feel this way about him? she thinks, I’m a married woman. I’m married to a wonderful man, and he is married to my dear friend?

Surprisingly this doesn’t seem to lessen her feelings. If anything, it seems to make them all the more intense and exciting. How could this be happening? Adultery has always been such an ugly word; something she thought she would never, ever consider even in her wildest dreams.

But then again, temptation is an interesting thing, isn’t it? It doesn’t present itself in an ugly way, because no one would be attracted, would they? Rather, temptation gets “all dolled up” and makes itself look very inviting and oh so pretty.

Dinner is relatively uneventful and passes quickly. Nonetheless, the sexual tension continues to mount as she herself being pulled by a massive magnet every time their eyes meet across the table.

The efficient wait staff swiftly clears the dishes from the table as the lights are turned down low and the band begins to play. All at once the room is filled with couples, arms wrapped tightly around each other, swaying to the soft and romantic first dance of the evening. In unison all the married couples from our group jump up to join them on the crowded dance floor.

To be continued…..