R.I.P., Rod McKuen

I just read that poet Rod McKuen died this week. When I was going through my poetry obsession in my teens, Rod McKuen was one of the poets that I read repeatedly. So much poetry was difficult for me to understand; it was just a collection of pretty words. I enjoyed the rhythm but didn't really get the overall meaning. McKuen's work seemed more down-to-earth to me. Running across his obituary today makes me want to revisit his work and poetry in general to see if 30-odd years of life experience will bring me more understanding.

Finally, A Poem I Almost Understand

I subscribed to the Poem-A-Day feed so I could enjoy a little verse during National Poetry Month. However, most of what landed in my inbox was what I call "the new poetry" (anyone out there old enough to remember the new math?). It didn't have the structure or rhyming scheme that I'm accustomed to, and I didn't understand what most of them were about. Then the poetry gods shone down upon me and presented me with a Dorothy Parker poem, "The Passionate Freudian to His Love". I discovered several months ago that my taste in novels has gotten lighter; I think that my taste in poetry has strayed away from the deep symbolism, as well. Although I appreciate a well-turned phrase and the artful combination of words that intrigue the ear, at the end of the poem I want to understand what I read.