18th & 19th October, 2004
Click here for new Rod
McKuen appearance details!
|
|
Rod 4/16/04 Photo by Billy Iz
A Thought for Today
Poetry seeks out the real, not the apparent.
FROM the¨BOOKS
TURNING POINT
The road turns
here,
up ahead you see it
dissolving in the dust.
I would have you now
dissolving into me
suspended,
held aloft
by my arms only.
Hanging on
but letting go.
The sky
is cloudless here
look above
and you can see it
blue on blue,
bareheaded
and not breathing.
I would wish for you
the same clear
cloudless eye
seeking mine
straightforwardly and true
not breathing
and bareheaded
as I breathe my way
through you.
The sun
is friendly here
look just left
and you can see it
warm but kindly
so and clearly caring.
I would ask of you
that you be ever warm
willing to be kind
not letting me forget
that kindness is the passport
and the proven way
for two to journey through
a lifetime, each other,
or a single summer's day.
-from "Come To Me in Silence," 1973
Click
on the Stanyan House logo to buy Rod McKuen books, CD's and lots more
Click on the heart logo to
subscribe to the Rod McKuen mailing list
Catch Rod McKuen live!
Click on the links below for details of
concerts and appearances.
ROD McKUEN
CONCERTS
ROD
McKUEN APPEARANCES
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
 |
|
Monday 18 October
Chuck Berry o
Pam Dawber o
Mike Ditka o
Jesse Helms o
Miriam Hopkins o
Fannie Hurst o
Klaus Kinski o
Lotte Lenya o
Wynton Marsalis o
Melina Mercouri o
Martina Navratilova o
Laura Nyro o
Anita O'Day o
Lee Harvey Oswald o
Waldo Salt o
George C. Scott o
Vincent Spano o
Inger Stevens o
Bobby Troup o
Pierre Trudeau o
Jean-Claude Van Damme o
Wendy Wasserstein o
Dawn Wells o
Rebecca Westphall
Tuesday 19 October
Jack Anderson o
Robert Beatty o
Amy Carter o
Divine o
Sean Garrison o
Jean Genet o
Omar Gooding o
Lloyd Haynes o
Jennifer Holliday o
Evander Holyfield o
John LeCarre o
John Lithgow o
Tony LoBianco o
Walter Mathews o
Peter Max o
Lewis Mumford o
George Nader o
Troy Parker o
Robert Reed o
Jeannie C. Riley o
Johnny Stompanato |
|
 |
|
Truth is never absolute, as lies are seldom ever lies completely. No one ever seems to notice or even try to take apart that gray matter lurking in between the two.
Even when the candle sputters, hope hides
inside the flame ready to spring forward and jump out.
Like clocks, we are always eager to unwind
until the process starts.
|
|
THREE POEMS FROM "WITH LOVE" |
|
1.
Close
Forward or back
September is the turning time.
Ask the man whose livelihood
is apples
or the one who lives for love.
So spreading our arms wide
we gather in September
as a cold man searching
after
firewood
before the snow
blots out the world.
2. Tell Me How the Wind Blows
Tell me how the wind blows
and what it takes to find
new waves rolling
down new beaches
and different drummers
drumming somewhere
if they do.
Tell me lies,
and if your honesty’s a badge
then wear it out of sight.
Especially if you intend
to disavow your love for me.
Save honesty for times
when truth is needed
to make the world four-square
and sure.
Make up stories for me
before you turn to leave.
Intrigue me with ideas
to offset your absence.
Cup your hands just so
and tell me, show me
how the wind blows.
3. Water MusicThere are rivers
that I’ll never see
That never worried me
till now.
But as a soldier of the heart
I’ve this year
come to fear,
that on some battlefield
not yet near,
upon the final stream
I’ll fall.
With that in mind
I ford each river
as I would the last
and take each lover
as I would
that final
fatal one.
- from "With Love", 1970 |
|
|
|
