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Rod & KubbyKat Too:
Photo by Bob Gentry 4/26/2000
A Thought for Today
Be thankful for the small things in life, they always make the difference.
To each and all of you, whether you live in the USA and celebrate today as Thanksgiving or not, I am very thankful for your continued support and trust. I hope that if I occasionally disappoint you those disappointments and failings will be outweighed by our friendship and concern for one another.
MY WEDDING
Mr. McKuen: I
fell in love with your poetry after listening to your album "Live At Carnegie
Hall", I believe it was April 1968. There was a particular poem, I don't know the name but it goes something like this;
"If we could do it all again, motor bike the roman cities in the rain, watch cats chase lizard in the forum, drink bad wine from mouth to mouth, I would probably love you harder than I did.
I was just rehearsing, imagining what easily might happen in years to come. You see it's not just you I love or even the Roman rains, etc. "
O.K. that's it for the memory of some 31 years. I would like to recite it to my wife to be, we are getting married soon. Is there any place I can get the entire text of this poem. Please know that I always give you credit for what ever I can remember from your poems. Thank you very much, John W. Smith, the hopeless romantic.
p.s., I did memorize it in 1969 to impress a young lady with your words, she still remembers it.
Dear John, The poem you mentioned is called "Comfort" and it's from "Stanyan Street & Other Sorrows." Jay Hagan reminded me that it was printed in the Flight Plan of 23 June, 1998.
Have a beautiful wedding and a long and happy life with your new bride. In case you're not up to looking it up in the files, the words are printed below. All the very best, Rod.
Comfort
If we could do it all again
motor bike through roman cities
in the rain
watch the cats chase lizards in the forum
drink bad wine from mouth to mouth
I probably would try
to love you harder than I did.
I probably would smile a smile
much better than the ones I did
for I was just rehearsing then
imagining what easily might happen
It is not just you I love
( or even Roman rain )
or all the times you rattled on my window
after twelve o'clock.
I love the smell of rooms -
where you have been,
the foreign touch of things I never knew
until you came along.
I even love your enemies
because they drive you to my arms
for comfort.
-from "Stanyan Street & Other Sorrows," 1965
A NOTE FROM JAY
In your book Intervals you have a poem titled 'Modern Romance". You also published the poem in the FP for 29 August 1999.
In reading this poem as printed the final thought "Every day a little close to " seems incomplete and there is no closing punctuation mark. Is this the way you intended to end the poem or is it just a misprint and words are missing?
Just wondering all theses years. Waterfalls and incomplete thoughts, Jay
Dear Jay, I've been asked more than once about the ending of "Modern Romance." I meant it to be incomplete which is one of the reasons for the title. I believe that modern romance is lacking something - mind you; I don't know what that something is. Certain niceties, perhaps, discretionary moves. Go back and read the poem again in its entirety, keeping the title in mind, and I think you'll see what I mean by leaving the end hanging. As ever, Rod
WE'RE STILL HERE
Ah, here you are. I've wondered what ever became of Rod McKuen. I have enjoyed knowing you through your books....
My friend in London England sent me an autographed book of yours..... 23 years ago...... You helped me through some very turbulent times.
I've always wanted to have a conversation with you.... I hope you are well, content, and loved..... My very best wishes go out to you, where ever you are on this earthly planet of ours, my complement to you, in a few words, thank you for being so human. In chilly November, warm thoughts and memories of words so eloquently spoken, going out to my favorite poet.
cheers! Barb Liska
Dear Barb, The same to you in spades. I hope the winter is especially good to you and my thanks for your very kind words.
Luv, Rod
FRIEND OF AN OLD FRIEND
You don't know me but I am an old friend of a friend of ours that passed away about 6 years ago. I was a great friend of his and he met you in New York somewhere in the 60s. At the time he was working at a large hotel chain His name was Robert "Bob " Burges and he retired down to the gulf shores in the early 80s to be with his mom in her need.
I recently had an opportunity to go through some of his things and ran across an old reel to reel that you signed your name on and gave to him w/ love. I listened to you work and just fell in love with it. I am not able to travel too much because of distance and working so much but when I do now I love to listen to your tapes.
I am a 31 year old male. You figure it out with all this new age music I'd still rather be listening to the classics. If you can remember him please reply to this letter it would be so nice to here a new listing of all the albums that you made so I can go out and buy them. Again, I love to listen to your work. Scott M.
Dear Scott, I knew Bob very well. He was one of the 'good guys.' Over the years I'd lost touch with him so I'm really unhappy to hear of his passing.
Thanks for your thoughtful letter and I'm delighted that you like my work. As for "the classics" I think in a world so full of noise, real music is more important than ever. I have a larger collection of classical music than any other genre. Popular music always seems to run in cycles and I can tell by the requests that come to Stanyan Records that there is a great hunger for the popular music of the thirties and forties. Orders for records and CD's of our middle of the road and nostalgia product come from people of every age.
As a young man of thirty-one who enjoys good music I don't think you should consider yourself as different. Discerning perhaps, but not different. As far as my recordings go there's a complete listing of them elsewhere on this site and a direct link to Stanyan By Mail on the Home page to show you what is available on CD & LP.
All my best to you Scott and despite the nature of it, thanks for the news on Bob Burges. I hope to hear from you again. Warmly,
WIND DANCER
Mr. McKuen, I was in a chat room and was talking to this one man who is 48 years old now. I asked him a question about the name he was using in the chat room because I love to dance. His nickname in the room was "Wind-Dancer". He
said that you called him that one day as he was sitting in the park writing a poem for a girl.
I don't know if you remember this or not. He was 15 years old and he said that the wind caught his papers and blew them
all over the ground and went chasing after them and that is when you gave him that nickname,
My name is Kellye. I live in Germany with my husband of sixteen years and two daughters Brandi, 15 and Maegan, 10. My husband is in the Air Force and we are over here for the next two years. I am glad he brought you to my attention. I love to read poems and try to write them on occasion. I helped my ten-year-old write one with her "tiger" project she had a couple
of weeks ago. It put a smile on her face because I had made it up within a couple of minutes.
Anyway, I just thought I would touch base with you and say, "HI". Thank you for taking the time to read this. Sincerely, Kellye
Dear Kellye, Wind Dancer seemed to be a good name for a kid twirling round and round trying to catch sheets of a love poem to his girl friend. I think he managed to retrieve them all.
I hope during your husband's tour of duty that you are able to see a lot of Germany and some of the surrounding countries.
You are in a very beautiful part of the world. And I especially hope that your children realize how lucky they are to be so called 'Air Force Brats.' What a great advantage it is for them to be able to travel as such an early age and see how others live.
Good luck with your own writing and please encourage your kids to read and write more. Warmest Regards, Rod
ALMOST LOST SLOOPY AGAIN
Dear Rod, I just thought I lost Sloopy again. She loves to wander outside--I couldn't find her and panicked but I sent Dwight on a search and he found her in the window, in the sunshine (typical cat--right)? Take care, Nan
(Note: Nan recently moved from Arizona to Southern California and acquired two cats that she named Dwight & Sloopy.)
Dear Nan, Many places in Southern California are enjoying a housing boom which drives coyotes and other animals out of the hills
(their home ground) and into populated areas. More and more Californians are keeping their pets inside because they are easy prey for larger predators.
It's not the fault of the coyotes; they follow their instincts. But until you look out the window and see a pet being carried off in the jaws of a coyote, as Edward did, you don't realize how prevalent the problem is. Keep your cats and small pets inside, for their good and yours. As ever, Rod.
WHO WAS SHE
Hey, I'm an enormous fan. I'm an 18-year-old student at Birmingham-southern College in the great state of Alabama. you've been my favorite poet since I was 15 and I collect your books and albums now. This is the first time I've set out to contact you because my Internet skills are less than graceful.
Anyway, my question for your site: who was she? I feel like all the time there was one woman that you left behind. the one you loved your life with. The quote that comes to mind is when you say you could "lie down in [her] shadow's shadow, and forget a ten year war". and another when you had never missed her so much as when you were on the beach
admiring (spell?) other
couples.
So who was she? (If I am correct) and what happened? Reever
Dear Reever, Thanks for the nice letter and the question, but gentlemen don't kiss and tell. I can tell you this much, there was some ONE who inspired many of the poems. If she tells I can't stop her, but my lips are sealed.
Obviously other poems were the result of different encounters, but it's still a good idea to let your imagination do my work for me. Sorry, but thanks again for asking. Cheers, Rod.
THE LAST WORD
A new bumper sticker reads, "Don't Blame Me, I Think I Voted for Gore." -from The Wall Street Journal 11/17/2000 (noted by Jed Mattes)
It's not easy to move away from the table while you're still a little hungry, but try to remember that left over turkey and 'the fixin's' taste better the day after. Sleep warm tonight and I'll see you tomorrow with Pass It Along.
RM 11/18/2000 Previously unpublished
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