------------- Old high school friends, Math and Poetry, meet on the way to work -------------
M Long time, no see! How do you do?
P Thanks Math, I’m great! Are you great too?
M Oh Poetry, I’m bored. What shall we do?
P Let’s go on a road trip; Just me and you!
M But where shall we go, dear Poetry?
P There are plenty of things that we can see!
How about the Sequoia Redwood trees?
M So very exciting that would be!
I’ve hear they grow three hundred feet tall
How many leaves will they shed in the fall?
P Who cares, my friend; just admire their beauty
M I’ve heard their sap tastes very fruity.
But what about work, I’ve got important duties!
P C’mon dear Math, stop being so snooty.
Math, my friend, you could use a good break.
Your precious mental health is at stake!
M I’ve got responsibilities, for goodness sake!
Gosh, your logic gives me a headache!
P Vacation is good! You really need one.
Come on! I promise it’ll be so much fun.
I guarantee you won’t have regrets. None!
You’ll be all cheered up by the time we’re done.
M Alright, I’m convinced. Are you going to drive?
How many hours is it? Like five?
Ditching work! Wow, I feel so alive.
Maybe I am vacation-deprived!
P That’s the spirit! Hop in my SUV.
And no, the drive will only be about three.
M I already feel amazingly free!
Maybe some time off is good for me!
----------------------------------- In the evening after a long hike ----------------------------------
P So math, how are you liking the park?
We should light a fire; it’s really dark.
M We’d better control our campfire’s sparks.
Ridiculously dry, this tree’s bark!
P Good thinking, shall we go back to the car?
If you’d like I can play some guitar.
We can lie on the hood and gaze up at the stars.
M They are so far away; Who knows how far?
This is so intriguing, Poetry
Much more complex than Euclidean Geometry
P Your mind is wandering uncontrollably.
My mind functions better thinking globally.
M Poetry, please don’t overreact!
Try out thinking in the abstract.
P Compared to poetry, math is much more exact.
Perhaps I’m the abstract one in fact.
M I didn’t mean to place any blame
You and I are actually quite the same.
Both structured and abstract, I claim.
There’s no need to feel any shame.
P My message is abstract; my meter organized.
M With concrete postulates my theory is subsidized.
And I always show steps when I generalize.
That way my rigor isn’t compromised.
P How similar we are! I was not aware!
M You and I make quite the pair!
P Our synergy is beginning to flare!
M To ours, no friendship can ever compare!
------------ Math and Poetry become BFFs and now go camping every weekend ------------The End
You Know I'm kind of having a rendezvous moment right now - I feel as if I've seen this type of poetry before, but then there are the character roles of Poetry and Math... oh wait Shakespeare's drama plays right I forgot about that. Since I can actually understand lay language (opposed to shakespearean), I enjoyed this post a lot! This was really cool! And every weekend like dangg they must be tight
ReplyDeleteThis is really cool, I love your poem, the rhyming reminds me a lot of Dr. Seuss, it's so whimsical. I also like how math and poetry are "old high school friends" -- like how in high school we have to study both subjects, but then maybe in college we don't see one for a while because we're not studying it, and then end up discovering some hidden passion for the other subject, after all. This is really sweet, I'm glad that math and poetry become such besties.
ReplyDeleteI really enjoyed this! I thought it was nice how it was written in the form of a dialogue, and the rhyme scheme was also very impressive. I really liked how Math and Poetry contrasted in the beginning, and then it was really good how they came together in the end. You transitioned into that really nicely, and it was very easy to read.
ReplyDeleteLove the epilogue, it's comforting to know they're buds now! This poem is really cool, it's a great way to talk about and respond to the prompt without tiring it out or directly addressing it (like, "this is what I think would happen if math and poetry went on a road trip...") The lines "You and I are actually quite the same. / Both structured and abstract, I claim," are really a solid message, and I appreciate that you chose to write a poem in order to do this blog post. There are so, so many ways to interpret the prompt, but I think your message (them becoming besties and realizing their connections), blends really seamlessly with the poem structure and especially the rhythm and rhyme scheme, like Elissa mentioned.
ReplyDeleteIt was really fun that you actually told a story instead of explaining what you think would happen. I was a little surprised that Math was rhyming along with Poetry, but I guess maybe this math is a little more open minded to the poetry world.
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ReplyDeleteBrilliant job, Lyle. The dialogue flows very nicely and I really enjoyed your rhymes. I hadn't realized how similar poetry and math are until I read some of the posts for this problem. I also found it interesting that Math was rhyming too but I think it worked out well anyway.
ReplyDeleteVery cute. I love that they're "old high school friends"––that's perfect!
ReplyDeleteLyle, I'm fairly impressed you took the time to rhyme this interaction with Math and Poetry, but the rhythm, which I think both math and poetry both would be more conscientious of considering it is based on a sequences, patterns, and numbers, (but that's to put it simply) was a little bit difficult for me to handle. The rhymes occurred in odd intervals and transitions were a little rough and I just had a lot of difficulties to read outloud, that being said I really did love the idea! And my favorite part was in the evening with the stars and the guitar and the euclidean geometry :P Honestly, this would be something great for Unique if you were interested in revising some of the actual poetic stuff but it gets the point across super well! Thanks for sharing Lyle!
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