Concrete Glass and Steel

I found these photos of some of the unique buildings at the University of California, San Diego (UCSD) where I got a B.S. in molecular biology. The students are spread out and the school lacks a feeling of social cohesiveness. I learned about a plan by Roger Revelle to build student dorms, shopping, dining, and other things necessary and desirable for college students. UCSD rejected the idea and sold the land that would have been used for the project and used the money to build more and better buildings. I wrote part of this poem around that time and finished this version recently.

Undergraduate Choosing a Major

Where we mingle-mangle wisdom with our lust

-in a world that doesn't feel-

Each building rises with its own thrust.

-concrete, glass, and steel-

I sit and ponder on these voices

and on an absence of a whole.

This trinity vies to earn my choices

-concrete, glass, and steel-

In a world without a soul.

-Dan Owens