I’ll catch the sun
and never give it back again
I’ll catch the sun
and keep it for my own
And in a world
where no one understands
I’ll take my outstretched hands
and offer it to anyone.
– I’ll Catch The Sun
Rod McKuen
The first time I encountered Rod McKuen’s poetry, I was hooked and that was almost thirty years ago. A singer, a songwriter, a poet! He was part of my days and nights of finding myself, searching for a lost love, maybe, just maybe, it wasn’t there at all but the poetry of Rod McKuen was.
Seasons in the Sun was one of his popular books and he was a friend, a companion during dark nights and an imaginary shoulder to cry on. He speaks for a generation with gentle and always intelligent poetry . In vain, I am still trying to find some of his books and they are still included in my wishlist at Shelfari.
I would ask of you
that you ever be 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.
Simple lines, the meaning of which touches you to the core. I’ve spent some of my younger years wishing that I could put my thoughts on paper as sensitively as he does. I’ve spent some of my youngers years wishing that I could reach out through poetry too just like he does, but that will never be. Ambitious thinking!
And in my heart, I truly believed in finding one true love. And somehow I was brave enough to give it a try. Listen to this:
Cloud formations
on a give day
and wondering
if you’d seen them too
are enough to make
a morning pass for me.
was your day
filled with wanting
or the needlepoint
of knowing that I waited
I did
I do.
Rod McKuen! He still could turn my days into sunshine and makes me appreciate the times that certain rain must fall.
Big thanks ms. Arlene for that nice write up bout my idol
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thank you too for the visit. glad to know that we both admire Rod McKuen.
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may i request a favor ms. arlene? where could i buy Rod Mckuen books & other writings. Big thanks again!
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I bought my only book of Rod McKuen more than thirty years ago. I was not so lucky to find more of his books, I’ve been to several branches of National Bookstore but they don’t carry any. You can visit his website and see all the other published books that he has. His voice reminds me of Richard Harris.
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It has really been 30 years ago when i discover Senor Rod Mckuen. T’was in college. Another place, another time. His poems i was able to easily relate to. Not only that time but even up to now. I vividly remember this line from his poem (sorry i forgot the title) from his book “Alone”; it goes this way: “I no longer want what I have never seen, a sometime thing forever out of reach.” Here goes another, entitled “Contrast” from the same book : “dont shut off the night, just leave the porch light on, for contrast.” Ms. Arlene would you mind if we could communicate on this? From one Poetry loving Lawyer to a Poetry loving Writer like you are.
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I was already in college when I encountered Rod McKuen, much like meeting my other favorite writer, Kahlil Gibran. I used to be a student librarian in UST so I had the privilege of reading so many interesting books. I never thought of buying any of his books until later though.
What may be good for one may be a little quite different from another. My view of good poetry is that, if it moves you, then it is good. Rod McKuen writes simply, evoking raw emotions of anger, loneliness, joy and sorrow, and sometimes he writes with grammatical errors even and he seems fixated on being alone, that’s what I like in his works because I could relate.
I am a member of Shelfari.com, a website for book lovers and most of his books are in my wish list.
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It makes me glad that despite the time demanded by my job somehow i’m still able to find the time to savor popular poetry. makes my everyday life balanced. Makes me feel younger, i must say. To look back with yearning at those times when there were mostly dreaming….
I regret that before I wasn’t able to combine in a balanced way reading good books and undertaking an occupation. Now I should know better. Twi’ll be back to my other love, aside from poetry which is reading a really darned good book
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[…] Alone by Rod McKuen. I’ve always wondered if I ever get the chance to own another McKuen book. His Seasons in the Sun was a rare find and I enjoyed every word. I even blogged about him here. […]
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[…] last time I encountered Rod McKuen was several years ago. I chanced upon his book Seasons in the Sun in one of my forays at National Bookstore back then. I didn’t even know that he was the […]
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