A RANT AGAINST ALGEBRA

Algebra, you are problematic
using alphabet in place of integers
spelling doom for some with D or F,
giving A+ power to others who can relate
your secret recipes exactly to pi
squared, nonsense to those who know
pie is round and comfort-filled,
flaky but understood,
not tough to digest uppity crust
like your arithmetic problems:
What difference does it make if your sum is
more than X, less than N ?
It always equals “Why?”
Algebra, you are odd.
Even your expressions are confusing!
Why does math need a box and whisker plot?
Sounds more like a mystery novel with a cat
who finds its base of power
and knows that a stem and leaf plot
is binomial and loose, rather than one of your angles
that produce complex fractions to factor in formulas
completing the square.
The endpoint is, Algebra,
What is the root sum of evil?

———-

GOOD PEOPLE: HALT!

And watch out for science-fiction Christians!
The six o’clock news–
show business!
All cities and even little towns,
appeals for money,
near-death experiences,
entertainers on television.
A new strain of ethnic-cleansing
is to cut off its nose
to provide some filler,
again and again,
for the sake of clarity
to spite its face–
conceivable remedies
in every case nowadays,
pathetic or even absurd.
Support justice and sanity:
Too late!

(A Found Poem using: Vonnegut, Kurt. “unfortunately, the recent legal difficulties.” God Bless You, Dr. Kevorkian. New York: Seven Stories Press, 1999. 71-73. Print.)

© 2015 Lylanne Musselman

The Big Windows Review 6 (Fall 2015)