As an aside…with thanks to Rod McKuen

Not sure this is really worthy
Of the muse I thank today…
But read it in the spirit
Of however love comes your way…

It was only a poem
Not one to even memorize
But it had a lasting phrase
Like winning some kind of prize

the voice seemed David Jansen’s
the words certainly not
as I listened closely
a sense of me I got

I liked David Jansen
Always used to view
His TV show The Fugitive
But this sounded rather new

So I waited round until
The deejay come on to say
That maybe the full LP
Was something worth the pay

And then he gave the name
Of someone not on my list
A person who could write with style
A message ought not to be missed

So I wandered to a record shop
Not far from the college dorm
And there asked with unsure sense of knowing
If they knew someone writing outside the norm

Now Bob Dylan came from that state
And I could have ended up buying
A vinyl purchase or two
But would not have left me sighing

Instead the guy behind the counter
Knew exactly what I was looking for
He produced a silver covered album
Which held words and music full of more

More than I had ever imagined
For the song I had heard that day
Was not the best of those contained
For each new piece did something say

It was quite a moment
It was a real find
But ironically I lost it
Because to an ex I was kind

At first I didn’t mind all that much
Because Glenn Yarbrough did them better
And I could get his records much easier
And he nailed the message to the letter

But recently I realized almost too late
That Rod had been a kind of muse
Coming across a sort of bridge
Those in Madison County might use

Rod has passed away now
But YouTube fills the bill
I can bring him back whenever
I need to climb that hill

To look out towards the time
When suddenly I came to know
That I was capable of love
That it could be such a glow

The view back to that bridge
Elevating one’s sense of being
Is something to behold
And Simply gave a deeper seeing

So thank you now, both Rod and Glenn
For keeping me aware
That love is always worth pursuing
Even when age has no care