Francis Schaeffer wrote in his short piece “Art & The Bible” that “The Christian is the one whose imagination should fly beyond the stars.” To that end, every Friday I feature poetry (and sometimes music). Though the poetry might not always be by Christians, I want to challenge Christians to think about art and expand our horizons and our understanding of the Gospel. Also to that end, I try to link to other people highlighting art on Fridays. Joe Thorn, Alex Forrest, Steve McCoy and Timmy usually post great photographs, so please pay them a visit.

Today’s poetry draws more from the mainstream, popular-level poetry. Rod McKuen is perhaps the best-selling poet of all time. Wikipedia notes, “McKuen’s commercial success is unparalleled in the field of modern poetry. His poetic works have been translated into a dozen languages and sold over 65 million copies.” Today’s selections come from 1967’s Listen to the Warm and 1954’s Stanyan Street and Other Sorrows.

McKuen wrote songs for Glenn Yarbough and Frank Sinatra among others. His style is typically very straightforward, drawing heavily on the themes of longing and alone-ness (not always the same as loneliness), often employing clever wordplay. It is accessible, which means that it immediately connects with some while falling a bit short for others. He was perhaps my first introduction to the idea of the relationship that could exist between poetry and life, and for that he will always hold a special place on my shelf, even if his style has been outgrown.

But before we get to the poetry, I’d like to offer two tracks for download from the now defunct band The Tundra Survey. Allmusic describes the music as “Sad and gentle atmospheric tunes are delivered by a lineup of viola, cello, flute/xylophone, electric guitar, and electric bass.” Falling roughly within the “chamber pop” genre, not out of place being compared to Rachel’s or even Godspeed You Black Emperor! or te Boxhead Ensemble. These two tracks are made available on the band’s website which is still in operation though the band called it quits several years ago.

• Download “Leaning Over Fault Lines” (direct download).
• Download “The Edge of Winter Transforming” (direct download).

And now on to the poetry. First is “The World I Used to Know” from the collection Listen To The Warm followed by “Apartment 4E” from Stanyan Street and Other Sorrows.

The World I Used To Know

Someday some old familiar rain
will come along and know my name.
And then my shelter will be gone
and I’ll have to move along.
But till I do I’ll stay awhile
and track the hidden country of your smile.

Someday the man I used to be
wil come along and call on me.
And then because I’m just a man
you’ll find my feet are made of sand.
But till that time I’ll tell you lies
and chart the hidden boundaries of your eyes.

Someday the world I used to know
will come along and bid me go.
Then I’ll be leavin’ you behind
for lofe is just a state of mind.
But till that day I’ll be your man
and love away your troubles if I can.

Apartment 4E

The girl upstairs
is entertaining again,
I could set my clock
by the footfall on the stairs.I see her sometimes,
coming and going on the stairs
or going to the market.

Sometimes I hear her late at night
playing sad music
or walking overhead.
She smiles in the daytime,
but not at me.