when you've gray hair, people think your heart never skipped

Average rating: 8

Dragon {Wu Xia} (2011) - "In a quiet rural village, a seemingly mild-mannered paper maker becomes an unlikely hero after stopping two dangerous criminals—drawing the attention of a meticulous investigator who suspects there’s more to the man than meets the eye. In Dragon (also known as Wu Xia), the story unfolds as a slow-burning unraveling of identity, where past and present collide and violence carries lasting consequence. What begins as a mystery gradually reveals itself as something more elemental: a man trying to outrun who he once was." 

length: 1h, 38m  |  source: my DVD  |  directed by Peter Chan  |  why I watched: Donnie Yen is growing on me, and of course Takeshi Kaneshiro is a big draw

IMDb: 7.0/10  |  Rotten Tomatoes: NA% / 81% Audience  |  my IMDb: 7/10  |  MPAA: R

tone & texture: somber, textured/earthy

notable quote: "'You have more questions?'

    'I'll think of something.'"

my notes: astonishingly beautiful, this film is made up of some innovative, remarkable, brain-twisting camera work and editing. That means lots of sighs (the rain! paper-making! the river!) and some gasps (the inspector, inspecting! the river!) and a few gags (the EAR!). The action sequences are terrific. 

themes: identity, tradition vs. change, justice

overall:  recommended

 

Belfast (2021) - "Seen through the eyes of a young boy, this film captures a working-class family navigating the sudden eruption of sectarian unrest in late-1960s Northern Ireland. Ordinary routines—school, movies, neighborhood bonds—are disrupted by forces the child can’t fully understand, even as they reshape the family’s sense of home. The film balances moments of warmth and humor with the growing pressure of a world becoming less safe, asking what it means to belong when staying and leaving both carry a cost." 

length: 1h, 37m  |  source: my DVD  |  directed by Kenneth Branagh (also written by)  |  why I watched: I'd heard such good things

IMDb: 7.2/10  |  Rotten Tomatoes: 86% / 92% Audience  |  my IMDb: 8/10  |  MPAA: PG-13

tone & texture: tender, documentary - real

notable quote: "'"Too long a sacrifice can make a stone of the heart."'

    'Is that what does it?'

    'Yeah, well, you don't usually buy your wisdom with a walk in the park. Your heart has to explode.'

    'Mr. Philosopher. And when did your heart ever explode?'"

my notes: a terrific, well-made, stunning-looking film (so stunning, it seems like a series of still images rather than primarily a moving picture) that I never, ever want to see again. Ciarán Hinds and Judi Dench blew me away. It was my first exposure to Jamie Dornan, and to Caitríona Balfe since Ford v. Ferrari. It's just... I spent the entire time with feelings of intense discomfort, bordering on fear, and it was never quite resolved. It left a mark, and not in a good way. 

themes: loss, identity, loyalty

overall: highly recommended

This is Not What I Expected {Xi huan ni} (2017) - "A chance collision between a tightly wound executive and a fiercely intuitive chef sets off a quiet chain reaction neither quite understands at first. What begins in irritation and misalignment gradually becomes a series of small, revealing encounters—where taste, habit, and attention carry more meaning than intention alone. Rather than building toward sweeping declarations, the film lingers in the in-between: moments where people test, resist, and slowly adjust to one another’s presence. As routines are disrupted and assumptions quietly undone, connection emerges not as inevitability, but as something tentative, shaped through curiosity, friction, and the willingness to let another person alter the shape of your world." 

length: 1h, 46m  |  source: my DVD  |  directed by Derek Hui  |  why I watched: after the last film, I wanted something that I knew I would love and be comforted by (previously reviewed here)

IMDb: 6.7/10  |  Rotten Tomatoes: 78% / 87% Audience  |  my IMDb: 10/10  |  MPAA: TV-PG

tone & texture: intimate, lush & romantic

notable quote: "'You're not just a chef. You're special... but sometimes too special. That's beyond any standard. So special that you can't be controlled. So special that I don't know what to do with you.'"

my notes: it's a rare movie that I'll watch twice in two months. Or that I'll buy on DVD after having streamed it. Or whose rating I'll upgrade from 9/10 to 10/10 upon second viewing. This is a unicorn of a movie, and I absolutely love it. 

    It was, incidentally, produced by Peter Ho-sun Chan, who directed Takeshi Kaneshiro in Dragon. Very different films, sharing an interesting aesthetic thanks to that combo.

themes: chaos v. order, love, tradition vs chaos

overall: most strongly recommended

The Natural (1984) - "A gifted but enigmatic ballplayer arrives midseason to revive a struggling team, carrying with him a past that is both obscured and unresolved. In The Natural, myth and memory intertwine with America’s pastime, as talent alone proves insufficient without timing, integrity, and a reckoning with what came before. Told with a sense of quiet grandeur, the film traces the arc of a man who seems larger than life, yet is shaped—like anyone—by missed chances and the fragile hope of redemption." 

length: 2h, 18m  |  source: my DVD  |  directed by Barry Levinson  |  why I watched: the death of Robert Redford (and Robert Duvall) made it important to re-watch (previously reviewed here) 

IMDb: 7.4/10  |  Rotten Tomatoes: 83% / 88% Audience  |  my IMDb: 7/10  |  MPAA: PG

tone & texture: warm, lush & romantic

notable quote: "My life didn't turn out the way I expected."

my notes: it's not a bad movie, just very forgettable. If you like sports films whose purpose is to feature an inspiring hero—Rudy, Miracle, The Blind Side—then this is probably for you. If you're like me, and prefer movies about sports to be more than one infallible giant, then you're looking for something more nuanced, e.g. Bull Durham, Tin Cup, 42, or Breaking Away. 

    Regardless, this is Robert Redford making it look easy at the age of 47. No knocks on that.

    Roger Ebert's review is here (and, no surprise, he didn't love it either). 

themes: redemption, courage

overall:  recommended

 

[the title quotation is from Belfast]

the pool of dreams in which I drown in freedom

You are the company to whom I speak 

suddenly, all alone. 

The words that start 

from silence form you 

and the pool of dreams 

in which I drown in freedom 

till I wake. 

 

Your metallic hand 

strengthens the swift prise of my own, 

directs the pen 

that draws its littoral across the page. 

 

Your voice, sickle of the echo, 

is the reverberation of my voice against the wall, 

and in your mirrored flesh 

I see myself look thru a thousand Arguses, 

thru me, extended seconds. 

 

But the slightest sound drives you to flight, 

and I see you leave 

thru the door of the book 

or thru the atlas of the ceiling, 

thru the chessboard of the floor, 

or the page of the mirror, 

and you leave me 

heart stopped, wordless and faceless, 

stripped like a naked man of all my masks 

in the middle of the staring street. 

 

[Xavier Villaurrutia {1903-1950} 'Poetry', from Homesick for Death: Dead nocturnes—The complete poems of Xavier Villaurrutia]

good food is the foundation of genuine happiness

More accurate than a Buzzfeed quiz; less accurate than your therapist’s raised eyebrow.🤨

 

🌮 What’s Your Cinco de Mayo Mexican Meal? 🫔

 

Cinco de Mayo is as good an excuse as any to celebrate with good food, bright flavors, and maybe a little spice. But everyone approaches the table a little differently—some crave bold heat, some prefer comfort, some love a lively spread to share. Take this quiz to discover which Mexican meal best matches your personality.  

---

1. When you’re hungry and deciding what to eat, you usually: 

    A. Go straight for something bold and flavorful. 

    B. Choose a reliable favorite you know you’ll love. 

    C. Order several things so you can try a bit of everything. 

    D. Pick something comforting and satisfying. 

 

2. Your ideal dinner atmosphere is: 

    A. Lively and energetic. 

    B. Casual and relaxed. 

    C. Social and full of conversation. 

    D. Cozy and satisfying. 

 

3. Pick a flavor profile: 

    A. Spicy and vibrant. 

    B. Fresh and bright. 

    C. Bold and varied. 

    D. Rich and comforting. 

 

4. When cooking or ordering food, you tend to: 

    A. Seek out the most exciting option. 

    B. Keep it simple and fresh. 

    C. Turn the meal into a shared experience. 

    D. Look for something hearty. 

 

5. Your friends would say your personality is: 

    A. Bold and energetic. 

    B. Easygoing and refreshing. 

    C. Social and generous. 

    D. Warm and dependable. 

 

Results in the comments! 

 

[the title quotation is from Auguste Escoffier]

calamity has already been and gone, its arrows still clean

I do not wake up buzzing with happiness. 

In fact my bed is full of wasps. I have been stung 

 

everywhere tender. I have not had fun 

in a long time, maybe in ever. 

 

My blessings do not run over and also 

I have none. My sink is leaking. 

 

My sink is running over with wasps. 

They have carried off all my sugar. 

 

See how poor I am, how luckless, how unshapely 

my head from which no hair falls in waves. 

 

I have no children to speak of, 

no robes sewn with threads of gold, 

 

no robes. I am a patch of dirt, a glass 

of vinegar, a bony goose among fat others. 

 

I am an unworthy enemy, small and mean. 

In fact calamity has already been and gone, 

 

its arrows still clean. I do not need to play dead. 

Not even death would want to play with me. 

 

 [Claire Wahmanholm, ‘If Anyone Asks’, from Meltwater: Poems]

I won't pretend I haven't screamed in the kitchen

    If you like podcasts, I recommend The Dish Podcast (by Waitrose), hosted by Nick Grimshaw and Angela Hartnett. At the end of a lighthearted interview with someone famous—conducted while they eat a terrific meal—Nick and Ange ask a series of "rapid-fire" questions. 

    What follows are more of those questions, adapted to American culture and customs. My original post in what may become a series, from last January, is here. 

 

poached egg

What is the scariest way to eat eggs? 

    poached. Eating eggs is an act of willful ignorance for me. In order to turn my brain off, I need to accept it as something less than what it really is; I can't look at the original format and think it's something that I'm supposed to consume. 

What is your favorite pie? 

    peach melba. I love fruit, and raspberries and peaches are among my favorites on their own. Together, they are tart-sweet and extra flavorful. When made properly, a good pie can keep them relatively intact, so the result is not a swirly pinkish mixture but two great fruits coexisting in a crispy crust.  

What is your favorite chocolate bar? 

Orecchiette

    Milky Way. Not usually my first choice if I'm buying a candy bar (which so rarely happens, anyway) but the one I enjoy the most when offered as an option.  

What is your favorite pasta shape name for a cat? 

    Fedelini (it's a very thin spaghetti, whose name means "little faithful ones") or Orecchiette (meaning "little ears") or maybe Pansotti ("big bellies")

What is your favorite drink to use to splash in someone’s face to show disgust? 

    purple Jesus 

When you’re away from home, what dish do you miss? 

grilled cheese

     hamburger gravy & mashed potatoes. It is the flavor of my childhood, an absolute and immediate comfort food, and just difficult-enough to make in small quantity that I rarely cook it just for myself. 

What is your favorite dish from childhood? 

    besides the above? Grilled cheese. 

What is your favorite toast topping? 

     on especially good bread, butter only. On regular bread, low-sugar strawberry jam.

What is your go-to pizza order? 

    Canadian bacon, fresh tomato, and either green pepper or green olive 

maple long johns

What is your favorite donut? 

    maple-frosted long johns, from the local place 

What is your favorite thing to barbecue? 

    I don't actually barbecue things, on my own. I've got a policy about working with fire, which is that I don't.

    I like things that have been grilled, but I'm super picky about it. Nothing charred, nothing stuffed, nothing with a bone. No barbecued hamburgers. I prefer my steak pan-fried in butter.

    After all that: I would choose a plain brat, on a white bun, with mustard and ketchup.     

 

[the title quotation is from Angela Hartnett]

love and fear, grief and joy

Within the circles of our lives 

we dance the circles of the years, 

the circles of the seasons 

within the circles of the years, 

the cycles of the moon 

within the circles of the seasons, 

the circles of our reasons 

within the cycles of the moon. 

 

Again, again we come and go 

changed, changing. Hands 

join, unjoin in love and fear, 

grief and joy. The circles turn, 

each giving into each, into all. 

Only music keeps us here, 

 

each by all the others held. 

In the hold of hands and eyes 

we turn in pairs, that joining 

joining each to all again. 

 

And then we turn aside, alone, 

out of the sunlight gone 

 

into the darker circles of return. 

 

[Wendell Berry {1934- } 'Song (4)', from New Collected Poems]

as full of spirit as the month of May, and as gorgeous as the sun in Midsummer

More accurate than a Buzzfeed quiz; less accurate than your therapist’s raised eyebrow.🤨

 

🌼 How Should You Celebrate May Day? 🎀

 

May Day has worn many hats over the centuries—spring festival, workers’ holiday, excuse for flowers and dancing, or simply a moment to step outside and welcome the turning of the season. But the best way to celebrate depends on your personality. Take this quiz to discover your ideal way to mark the arrival of May.  

---

1. The first truly warm day of spring makes you want to: 

    A. Head outside and wander somewhere green. 

    B. Invite friends over for something festive. 

    C. Start a creative project inspired by the season. 

    D. Sit quietly and soak in the sunshine. 

 

2. Pick a springtime scene: 

    A. Wildflowers along a quiet trail. 

    B. Music, laughter, and a gathering in a park. 

    C. Craft tables covered in ribbons and blossoms. 

    D. A porch chair and a gentle breeze. 

 

3. Your approach to seasonal traditions is: 

    A. Get outside and celebrate nature. 

    B. Share them with friends and community. 

    C. Make something beautiful to mark the moment. 

    D. Enjoy them quietly in your own way. 

 

4. Your spring soundtrack would be: 

    A. Birds and rustling leaves. 

    B. Folk music and cheerful chatter. 

    C. Something whimsical and creative. 

    D. Quiet, peaceful silence. 

 

5. Your ideal May Day memory would involve: 

    A. Discovering a beautiful place outdoors. 

    B. Laughing with friends under blooming trees. 

    C. Creating something colorful and joyful. 

    D. A calm moment that feels quietly perfect. 

 

Results in the comments! 

 

[the title quotation is by William Shakespeare, from The Merchant of Venice, Act 1, Scene 2]

the name of a faraway city

Why make? I used to wonder. 

Is it something you have to keep on 

making, like beds or dinner, stir it up 

 

or smooth it down? Sex, I understood, 

an easy creaking on the upholstered 

springs of a man you meet in passing. 

 

You have sex, you don't have to make it, 

it makes you—rise and fall and rise again, 

each time, each man, new. But love? 

 

It could be the name of a faraway 

city, end of a tired journey you take 

with some husband, your bodies chugging 

 

their way up the mountain, glimpsing 

the city lights and thinking, If we can 

keep it up, we'll make Love by morning. 

 

I guess it was fun for somebody, 

my grandmother once said. By then I

was safely married and had earned 

 

the right to ask, there in the kitchen 

beside the nodding aunts. Her answer 

made me sad. In her time, love meant making 

 

babies, and if I had borne twelve 

and buried three, I might see my husband 

as a gun shooting off inside me, each bullet 

 

another year gone. But sex wasn't my question. 

Love was the ghost whose shape kept 

shifting. For us, it did not mean babies, 

 

those plump incarnations the minister 

had promised—flesh of our flesh, 

our increase. Without them, and twenty years 

 

gone, what have we to show 

for the planing and hammering, bone 

against bone, chisel and wedge, 

 

the tedious sanding of night 

into morning—when we rise, stretch, 

shake out the years, lean back, 

 

and see what we've made: no ghost, 

it's a house. Sunlight through the window 

glazing our faces, patina of dust 

 

on our arms. At every axis, mortise 

and tenon couple and hold. Doors 

swing heavy on their hinges. 

 

 [Rebecca McClanahan 'Making Love', from The Best American Poetry 1998; John Hollander, ed.]

swear, my heart, that you will never give them up

Sing, my heart, the gardens you never walked, 

like gardens sealed in glass balls, unreachable. 

Sing the waters and roses of Isfahan and Shiraz; 

praise them, lush beyond compare. 

 

Swear, my heart, that you will never give them up. 

That the figs they ripened ripened for you. 

That you could tell by its fragrance 

each blossoming branch. 

 

Don't imagine you could ever let them go 

once they made the daring choice: to be! 

Like a silken thread, you entered the weaving. 

 

Whatever image you take within you deeply, 

even for a moment in a lifetime of pain, 

see how it reveals the whole—the great tapestry. 

 

Singe die Gärten, mein Herz, die du nicht kennst; wie in Glas 

eingegossene Gärten, klar, unerreichbar. 

Wasser und Rosen von Ispahan oder Schiras, 

singe sie selig, preise sie, keinem vergleichbar. 

 

Zeige, mein Herz, daß du sie niemals entbehrst. 

Daß sie dich meinen, ihre reifenden Feigen. 

Daß du mit ihren, zwischen den blühenden Zweigen 

wie zum Gesicht gesteigerten Lüften verkehrst. 

 

Meide den Irrtum, daß es Entbehrungen gebe 

für den geschehnen Entschluß, diesen: zu sein! 

Seidener Faden, kamst du hinein ins Gewebe. 

 

Welchem der Bilder du auch im Innern geeint bist 

(sei es selbst ein Moment aus dem Leben der Pein), 

fühl, daß der ganze, der rühmliche Teppich gemeint ist. 

 

 [Zweiter Teil, XXI] 

 

 [Rainer Maria Rilke {1875-1926} "Part Two, XXI" from 'Sonnets to Orpheus', in In Praise of Morality: Selections from Rainer Maria Rilke's Duino Elegies and Sonnets to Orpheus, trans. and ed. by Anita Barrows and Joanna Macy]

a fair game

when all the cards are in

when all the chips are counted

the smiles smiled

the pictures taken

i wonder

if they'll say

you played a fair

game 

of game? 

 

[Nikki Giovanni {1943-2024} 'The Game of Game', from The Collected Poetry of Nikki Giovanni, 1968-1998]

all those pineapples gave me a stomachache. So I went to a bar

Average rating: 7.75 (not counting the DNF)

Cellular {Final Call} (2004) - "A woman held captive manages to piece together a broken phone and reaches a random young man on the other end of the line, pulling him into a race against time to save her and her family. The entire story unfolds through fragile connections—calls that can drop at any moment, information that arrives incomplete, and decisions made under pressure. As the stakes escalate, what begins as an accidental contact becomes a tense relay of trust, improvisation, and urgency across a city in motion." 

length: 1h, 33m  |  source: my DVD  |  directed by David R. Ellis  |  why I watched: I'm digging deep into the Jason Statham filmography

IMDb: 6.5/10  |  Rotten Tomatoes: 56% / 58% Audience  |  my IMDb: 7/10  |  MPAA: PG-13

tone & texture: unsettling, fast-cut/kinetic

notable quote: "'You're gonna need about five stitches. But some of this tissue looks...gangrenous.'

    'That's avocado mud mask. It's for combination skin.'"

my notes: Cellular suffers from an identity crisis. Is it a comedy? A thriller? Ironic, energetic, indie? It starts out feeling like another teen movie, or maybe an episode of Criminal Minds. In the end, it feels like a somewhat more engrossing and sustainably intense Speed. The destination is worthy of the bizarre journey. It's a different sort of movie, but I liked it.

    I particularly enjoyed producer Dean Devlin (of Leverage fame) as a cab driver, and (surprising for me) Rick Hoffman as the lawyer. 

    Roger Ebert's review is here—and he really liked it!  

themes: courage, found family, justice

overall:  recommended

 

Good Night, and Good Luck. (2005) - "In the early days of television journalism, broadcaster Edward R. Murrow and his team at CBS take on Senator Joseph McCarthy, whose anti-communist investigations have created a climate of fear across the United States. In Good Night, and Good Luck., the newsroom becomes a battleground where words, images, and integrity carry real consequence. Told with restraint and precision, the film captures a moment when speaking plainly on air required both courage and clarity—and when the cost of silence felt just as high." 

length: 1h, 33m  |  source: my DVD  |  directed by George Clooney  |  why I watched: it's been recommended many times, I like Clooney's work (especially as a writer and director), and the subject is timely

IMDb: 7.4/10  |  Rotten Tomatoes: 93% / 83% Audience  |  my IMDb: 8/10  |  MPAA: PG

tone & texture: straightforward, noir shadows

notable quote: "We must not confuse dissent with disloyalty. We must remember always, that accusation is not proof, and that conviction depends upon evidence and due process of law. We will not walk in fear, one of another. We will not be driven by fear into an age of unreason if we dig deep into our history and our doctrine, and remember that we are not descended from fearful men. Not from men who feared to write, to associate, to speak, and to defend the causes that were for the moment unpopular."

my notes: I admire the filmmaking, which is gorgeously done—tight shots, interesting (but not distractingly intense) angles, brilliant lighting, and almost flawless acting. It's a good story, well told. It's also a movie that I do not need to see again. 

    Roger Ebert's excellent review is here. 

themes: courage, justice, tradition vs. change

overall:  recommended

Chungking Express {Chung Hing sam lam} (1994) - "Two loosely connected stories unfold in the restless pulse of Hong Kong: a heartbroken cop marking time by expiration dates and chance encounters, and another drifting through routine until a quietly eccentric woman begins to reshape his world in small, almost invisible ways. Love is fleeting, accidental, and often one step out of sync—felt more in passing moments than in declarations. The film moves with a buoyant, improvisational energy, capturing the strange intimacy of loneliness in a crowded city." 

length: 1h, 42m  |  source: my DVD  |  directed by Wong Kar-wai  |  why I watched: this film is a sort of trifecta, uniting a favorite director with two favorite actors, Tony Leung Chiu-wai and Takeshi Kaneshiro

IMDb: 7.9/10  |  Rotten Tomatoes: 89% / 93% Audience  |  my IMDb: 9/10  |  MPAA: PG-13

tone & texture: intimate, high-color/stylized

notable quote: "We're all unlucky in love sometimes. When I am, I go jogging. The body loses water when you jog, so you have none left for tears."

my notes: trippy, melancholy, incredibly funny, sweet, thoughtful, and deeply romantic... This is one of the best movies I've ever seen. As it ended, I was beaming and in tears. It's so good. 

    Roger Ebert's review is here. 

themes: identity, memory, love

overall: very highly recommended

Spy Game (2001) - "On the day a veteran CIA officer plans to retire, he learns that a former protégé has been captured in China and is facing execution. Over the course of a single day, he navigates a web of bureaucracy, politics, and surveillance, using every ounce of experience to influence an outcome from behind a desk. Past and present intertwine, revealing a mentor–protégé relationship forged through missions, compromises, and hard-earned trust—where loyalty may matter more than the rules meant to govern it." 

length: 2h, 6m  |  source: my DVD  |  directed by Tony Scott  |  why I watched: I've seen it before (previously reviewed here) and liked it

IMDb: 7.1/10  |  Rotten Tomatoes: 64% / 75% Audience  |  my IMDb: 7/10  |  MPAA: R

tone & texture: straightforward, crisp & modern

notable quote: "'We're going to need you upstairs a bit longer.'

    [sighs] 'You've got something in your teeth.'"

my notes: the first time I saw it, I was more swept up; this time I saw the support structure (and thus the flaws). Still, it's a good film, and any opportunity to see Robert Redford is worth the time. The story is intricate, the pacing demanding, and the finale rewarding. 

     Roger Ebert's review is here. 

themes: loyalty

overall:  recommended

 

L'Amour Braque {Mad Love} (1985) - "Sophie Marceau, Tchéky Karyo, and Francis Huster form the mad love-triangle at the core of Andrzej Zulawski’s L’Amour Braque (a.k.a. Mad Love), a postmodern, existentialist homage to Fyodor Dostoevsky’s classic novel The Idiot. A manic bank robber (Karyo) aims to take back his beloved moll (Marceau) from rival gangsters. On a train to Paris, he meets a neurotic dreamer (Huster) who assumes the mantle of the tale’s 'idiot' and gets swept up in the ensuing maelstrom of love and vengeance. Brimming with outbursts of energy and eruptions of emotional violence, L’Amour Braque is a deliriously unique, perverse and bloody ballet choreographed by the visionary director of Possession and Cosmos." 

length: 1h, 41m  |  source: my DVD  |  directed by Andrzej Zulawski  |  why I watched: I'm fascinated with Tchéky Karyo, whose work in La Femme Nikita, Kiss of the Dragon and A Very Long Engagement I admire

IMDb: 5.9/10  |  Rotten Tomatoes: NA% / 45% Audience  |  my IMDb: 1/10 DNF  |  MPAA: Not rated

tone & texture: unsettling, absurd/surreal

notable quote: "'I've never been in love, just sick.'   

    'Same thing.'"

my notes: manic, loud, and obvious—this is the polar opposite from the qualities of Karyo's work that I've admired in the past. Yuck.

themes: chaos v. order

overall: not recommended

 

[the title quotation is from Chungking Express]

would it not be difficult

'I Chop Some Parsley While Listening to Art Blakey's 

Version of Three Blind Mice' 

 

And I start wondering how they came to be blind. 

If it was congenital, they could be brothers and sister, 

and I think of the poor mother 

brooding over her sightless young triplets. 

 

Or was it a common accident, all three caught 

in a searing explosion, a firework perhaps? 

If not, 

if each came to his or her blindness separately, 

 

how did they ever manage to find one another? 

Would it not be difficult for a blind mouse 

to locate even one fellow mouse with vision 

let alone two other blind ones? 

 

And how, in their tiny darkness, 

could they possibly have run after a farmer's wife 

or anyone else's wife for that matter? 

Not to mention why. 

 

Just so she could cut off their tails 

with a carving knife, is the cynic's answer, 

but the thought of them without eyes 

and now without tails to trail through the moist grass 

 

or slip around the corner of a baseboard 

has the cynic who always lounges within me 

up off his couch and at the window 

trying to hide the rising softness that he feels. 

 

By now I am on to dicing an onion 

which might account for the wet stinging 

in my own eyes, though Freddie Hubbard's 

mournful trumpet on "Blue Moon," 

 

which happens to be the next cut, 

cannot be said to be making matters any better. 

 

 [Billy Collins {1941- } 'I Chop Some Parsley While Listening to Art Blakey's Version of Three Blind Mice' from Sailing Alone Around the Room: New and selected poems] 

if I did say that you were hollow and heartless, I meant it in a positive way

    Farewell, years of the zoth century. Goodbye 

collectively and individually. I will miss you. 

 

    Goodbye 1991, year of the palindrome. There will never 

be another year like you until 2002. 

 

    Oh 1968, you and your friends 1967 & 1969 were a riot. 

 

    I'll never forget you, 1978. You were the year in 

which I first had sex. I bid you farewell in French, the 

language of intercourse: 

    Baisse-moi, prends-moi ici, dans ce poème, 

    sur cette page. Oh, mais tu es si sensuel, 

    année provacant! Au revoir. 

 

    I wish I had known you better: 1904, 1905, 1906. I 

always think of you guys together, sitting at the back of 

the 20th century. I wish we could have hung out!      

     

    1992. The year I graduated from law school. What have 

you been up to? Let's have lunch. 

 

    1955. I wasn't born yet, but don't think for a minute 

I don't lie awake, nostalgic for you. 

 

    I would like to apologize to the 1980s. I never said 

you were hollow and heartless. If I did say that you were 

hollow and heartless, I meant it in a positive way. We only 

hurt the years we love. 

 

[Pam Quinlan, 'Yearbook', from American Poets Say Goodbye to the Twentieth Century, ed. and with an introduction by Andrei Codrescu and Laura Rosenthal]

no heart or saving grace

We have done what we wanted. 

We have discarded dreams, preferring the heavy industry 

of each other, and we have welcomed grief 

and called ruin the impossible habit to break. 

 

And now we are here. 

The dinner is ready and we cannot eat. 

The meat sits in the white lake of its dish. 

The wine waits. 

 

Coming to this 

has its rewards: nothing is promised, nothing is taken away. 

We have no heart or saving grace, 

no place to go, no reason to remain. 

 

[Mark Strand {1934-2014}, 'Coming to This', from Selected Poems]