The Day the Cicadas Died, a Poem

THE DAY THE CICADAS DIED By Don Segal They sat on a park bench, She had cried, Watching how the cicadas died. Some still struggled, One jumped on his shoe, Others just twitched, Their death rattle gone, That’s all they … Continue reading →

A rich description of life as a Dog by Lord Dunsany

I saw the movie, My Talks with Dean Spanley, and found it quite a fanciful movie about a man who under the influence of a lot of wine, recalls his life as a dog. I found that it was based on … Continue reading →

Alive, Aware and Abiding… new poem

Alive, Aware and Abiding
By Don Segal

The fish is Aware of light above and none below
as it weaves here and there
Out and in of some rocks and sea weeds.

The fish is Alive as it seeks and it strives
To maintain its scaly skin
As it swims flashing tail through the sea.

The fish Abides in its space
That parts before and composes behind
as it slithers through the wet ether.

About a rock quarry, new poem

Dead Men and Dog Holes

Dead men,
Iron staples
Bound in granite
With no purpose now,
But their steady fastness
Kept the derricks erect.

Dog holes,
Perfect pits
Drilled in granite
With no purpose now
But their steady anchor
Kept the quarried blocks
On their trajectory out of the motion.

Empty holes and useless staples,
A grout pile of cast off granite
By the sea-filled quarry lake,
Harshly sheer cliffs
Cut by men

Crushed
By the weight
Of time accumulating
beside the tide churning,
beneath the sun rising,
below the sun’s settings,
Leaving little but
The sapstone rust
behind.

written at Halibut Point State Park,
formerly Babson Farm Quarry Park, Rockport, Massachusetts USA

Time and Mind Bending Sci-Fi Movies

I like these movies because you have to stretch to get your mind around them. Safety Not Guaranteed (2012) – Time Travel with Mark Duplass Part romance, part “is he crazy or a genius?”, really great movie. The Quiet Earth (1985, New … Continue reading →

Great Movies about regime change in the 1950-70s

I just saw the movie Balibo, about the conflict between East Timor and Indonesia in 1975 , based on the true story of 5 Australian journalists who tried to document the conflict. That reminded me of one of my favorite … Continue reading →

3 articles on Mind Management in the New York Times – 2/22/13

You can’t always get what you want. I was surprised to find an article in the Travel section of the New York Times today, Finding Your Own Cone of Silence by Stephanie Rosenbloom, that deals with managing noise on trains and … Continue reading →