Blog Archive

Sunday, July 27, 2014

Remainder

Numbers never lie.
There is always a deeper shade of blue,
a darker down to the drowning.
Take your typical Saturday night

(the kind you secretly swear
is stultifying your soul)
times the shrill ringing of a phone -
that's misery multiplied.
Or, the grit in your eye,

the blink, blur, blindspot
that comes and goes -
a square root that wends and winds
through cortex and lobe
subtracting sight.
The earth shakes,

but, still, you rotate,
hour added to hour,
day, night, day,
sleep, wake, do it again.
Living

is a curious, tender equation -
unbalanced,
unsolved,
infinite.

Divide.
Multiply.
Subtract.

Carry the remainder.

I'm supposed to be packing for my vacation, so this is a bit rough.  I just couldn't leave without working up something for Play It Again (Grapeling's Word List) at Real Toads.

15 comments:

Fireblossom said...

Rough? And here I was thinking it's one of the cleverest things you've ever written. Color me impressed.

Sylvia K said...

I'm always impressed by what you write and today is no exception, MZ! Hope you have a great vacation!! Enjoy!

Kerry O'Connor said...

Living is a curious, tender equation - unbalanced,unsolved,infinite.

Your central statement is huge in terms of the mystery we call "the meaning of" - and your extended metaphor is inspired. I wonder who could say it any better than this:

Carry the remainder.

Helen said...

That remainder gets pretty darned heavy some days ... awesome poetry!

Magaly Guerrero said...

Well, your "rough" reads rather smooth.

Have a blast!

hedgewitch said...

I can feel that bed go suddenly lumpy and board-hard--a winding strand of stress and worry in the blood, and the way you used 'rotate' was brilliant. Safe and fun travels, MZ.

Sherry Blue Sky said...

Yes, one of your best, kiddo........enjoy your holiday. I so like "Divide. Multiply. Subtract. Carry the remainder."

Isadora Gruye said...

lovely work here MZ...I echo the cires of those who commented ahead of me, however, I did want to add I really like your line enjam-ment here. How you break each one and carry over to the next gives the sense of dividing, multiplying, and a sense beyond the math. Well done and viva la!

Isadora Gruye said...

lovely work here MZ...I echo the cires of those who commented ahead of me, however, I did want to add I really like your line enjam-ment here. How you break each one and carry over to the next gives the sense of dividing, multiplying, and a sense beyond the math. Well done and viva la!

Anonymous said...

If this is rough I'm going to try writing with sandpaper... beautiful. Have a great vaca.

Margaret said...

Remainders - I say round up or down - whichever suits you best :) I have never liked math…

Yes, this metaphor is stunning and the poem so very clever.

I'm going to start writing with sandpaper too! ha ha

Ella said...

Math and poetry equal goodness!
I love how cleverly you wrote this-I have to read it again! ;D

Anonymous said...

Kerry again notes the same phrase I do. Effortless. Gorgeous ~

Amrit Sinha said...

Have a great vacation ... and loved the poem :-)

Anonymous said...

Very good. I especially like these:

"a darker down to the drowning"
"the blink, blur, blindspot"
"but, still, you rotate" (double meaning in "still")
"a curious, tender equation"
"Carry the remainder."

That last line makes me want to cry for some reason. Like maybe it has something to do with taking care of a child. What's left to hold onto, what's worth anything at all, is a little one in your arms. To me, anyway.

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