THIS ONE
DOES IT FOR ME! |
|
A Thought for Today
Kind words are never forgotten, they reverberate down a lifetime.
Hi Ken! From Sharon in Arizona,
well, for that matter anywhere I am, this one does it for me!
Rod's entire book, "The Beautiful Strangers," I have raved about on the message boards many times, but I felt it
was about time I submitted something for your column, which by the way, is very enjoyable and always interesting.
The photograph above is one of my favorites from the back cover of "The Beautiful Strangers," taken by Helen Miljakovich
who seemed to capture beautifully, the dreamer in Rod, don't you think?
Along with this photo, I chose two of the most loving and
passionate poems from this book, "Loving Elizabeth" and "To You." Well actually, "To You" is a song; lyrics by McKuen
and music by Jacques Brel. Reading the lyrics is spellbinding,
and wow! what a romantic song it is! The musing combination
between Rod and Jacques, I believe, created some of Rod's
greatest, passionate work. Thank you Rod, for the poetic and
musical beauty you bring to so many lives. And I thank Jacques
too.
For those of you, who do not have this book, "The Beautiful
Strangers," you'll be pleased to know that new copies are still
available from Dwight at: Stanyan By
Mail. Truly, it is a book
you must have and if you hurry you can receive it signed by
Rod before Christmas. I can't think of a better gift to yourself.
LOVING ELIZABETH
Having loved you all these years
at distance and close quarters
from the time when you were purple-eyed
and velvet on an English countryside,
through triumphant trips in Tennesseeland,
as the snow fell in Gstaad, as a rainbow arched in Rome,
through husband and husbands and gossip and gloss,
through childhood and girlhood and womanly calm
past Dorchester doorways and limousines waiting
at the curb of California bungalows...
In our rooms in Botswana, separate---apart,
I grew and grow up loving you.
- from "The Beautiful Strangers", 1981
Thank you Sharon, this was a
lovely choice from a terrific book. And yes, I agree with you about the
photo. I can never hear the word "dreamer" without thinking of
those wonderful John Lennon lyrics "you may say I'm a dreamer, but
I'm not the only one". As luck would have it the Lennon art
exhibition, "Imagine", is on in Johannesburg right now and I'm
planning a visit within the next day or so. Having heard some of the
asking prices, I'll leave the credit card at home, though!
For those of you who may not
know, "Loving Elizabeth" was written for Elizabeth Taylor who,
coincidently, was the subject of a marvelous television tribute aired in
South Africa this week to honor her work in the AIDS field. The
reference to Botswana is an interesting one for it was in that African
country that she and Richard Burton married for the second time.
And any McKuen/Brel
collaboration is always something to take note of, isn't it?
ken@mckuen.com
is the address for your contributions if you have a favorite McKuen
song or poem you'd like to share. Hope to hear from you soon.
- Ken, Johannesburg, December 13 |
