Imagineerium

three poems...

Imagineers

Ocean going tropical fish in a tropical aquarium,
All the colors, all the shapes,
Imagineers in their imagineerium.

Schools and Flocks

Wondering about those who wonder
About schools of fish, about flocks of birds,
About how they move,
How together they can all respond
Quickly in unison,
How they can do it, shoaling,
Like the wind over a high mountain
Deep dark blue lake
Sinuous with silver flashings
As the wind runs in sheets across its surface,
Like wind driven rain I've seen
On night black asphalt pavement,
The rain drops tossed here and there,
City lights sparkling inside them.
The birds, the fish, they fly in sky, swim in sea,
Feel and respond together to wind and current
Neither of which I can see,
And I join those who wonder
About flocks of fish, about schools of birds,
About how they move,
How together I am with them
In school, in flock,
Flying in invisible sky,
Swimming in invisible sea,
I don't really know,
About how,
About why,
But moving.

Seagulls

The parking lot was nearly empty
Expanse all about me
Riding the black bicycle with white wall tires
Rolling sound and the wind
Alone in my ears
Felt cold
Too the seagulls to find warmth were all resting
Thousands and thousands on the afternoon asphalt
I rode aiming at them
They are always reluctant to move when approached
They are stubborn but
One by one then all of them took off
Rising on either side
On either side they settled back down
Like my travel had been a foot track in wet sand
Between the ocean waves
That is how they regarded my bicycling
While I thought riding with my arms outstretched
To orchestrate their flight.

DolphinWords


In trying to figure out how to make a print version of Oranges, I made a little book out of one sheet of 8.5 by 11 paper.  Much forgotten, it is in the scrap box too, and on it's cover is fond memory of the aquarium I had--fresh water--one can see the succor mouth fish and the angel fish.  I think I gave them away to my nephew, but one scat I had, when it perished, I took all the way to the Dana Point tide pools for burial!

I think I may have actually sent the little poem Imagineers to the Disney Imagineering department!  When I worked there (I drove forklifts and delivery trucks in park), employees were encouraged to submit improvement ideas.  "I have an idea!"  this program was called.   I sent in a few, one quite fantastical, rides with fractal like algorithms that would change everything on each ride through!  One practical, oversize pallets that the parade people would load up with tech stuff and awkward large things.  This was adopted!    In return for submissions, for awhile, one got a little "I have an Idea" pin--mickey ears like a light bulb.  Hope I still have that in one of the scrap boxes!  A treasure. 

The 'deep dark blue lake' is a memory of Fourth of July Lake on windy afternoon, but could be any of the thousands of lakes in the Sierra.

Alan Alda did a bit on a science program with small drones, showing how they can be made to fly together  in choreographed unison.  Very cool.  https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LQFlimEZA9Q