Formula for a Rod McKuen Poem:

1. A nostalgic tone. (Spoken by a speaker in the Present.)
2. A lonely setting, emphasizing the separateness of the persona.
3. A male persona with female fantasies. (Usually the male is the
victim of a relationship terminated.)
4. One contrived, pretty image. (Sensuous appreciation of
remembrance) Slang cuteness rather than appropriateness.)
5. Brevity.
6. In free verse. Not rhyme
7. Less than 20 lines, but 10 is better.

Examples:

• "Listen to the Warm" by Rod McKuen and
• "Crumpled up in Playdo: A Rod McKuen Clone." by James Enelow

Reaching For Babylon | Growing the Perfect Beard | R.S. Thomas
The Golden Age Gallery | John Wood | The Enelow Family Page
Wendy Cope | Robert Olen Butler | Dylan Thomas
The Hall of Poets |Phillip Larkin | Superman 
Alan Moore | Warren Ellis | Obsessions
Planetary Annotations | Dr. Robert E. Nelsen
The Unnoficial Sojourn Webpage | Chad Hansen's Page of Poetry 
Links | The Poem Library | Hall of Poets | Vitae | Terra Cotta
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