Day 7: I Swear My Math Teacher Wrote This

Today's poem and blogpost was written by a friend of mine, Mia. There are a thousand ways to look at a single poem and I like to see what other people think about the poems they read. That's why I'd like to thank Mia for doing this and letting me see a poem differently. 


This poem is called: I Swear My Math Teacher Wrote This.
The second line of the title is: "Let s be the length of the arc subtended by Θ"
by River Standford

Lets be the length of the ark subtended by Theta
and lie in her streams, plying the waters
with subdued strokes of due course
Let's meander her aquae silvae 
Submerged in the spring singing of nymphs
Lets be the length of the ark subtended by Theta
drifting drifting out to Alpha
drifting drifting to Omega

I love this poem for a lot of reasons. Read it out loud to discover the first reason. It sounds beautiful. It's rhythm is perfectly imperfect, the th sounds and the s sounds flow like the water it tells of. The repetition of the word "Drifting" in the last two lines is like a lullaby, close your eyes as you say "Drifting, drifting out to Alpha, drifting drifting to Omega." It's physically relaxing, unlike a lot of poetry that tends to be just mentally soothing.

This poem, at it's title, sounds like a parody, a satirical poem brought about by homework. In reality, it serves as proof that inspiration can come from anywhere. I don't pay much attention in math class either, but I certainly don't spend it thinking about love, adventure, beauty, existentialism, eternity, or destiny, and I could never bring all those huge ideas together into a small but powerful piece as Stanford has done here.

I picture a person floating on their back in a calm body of water with another person who happens to be the most important person in the world to the first. But that doesn't matter in the second this poem is existing around them. The only thing that matters is their apparent invincibility, and acceptance of going wherever life takes them "with the subdued strokes of due course". They can close their eyes and picture nymphs, because the water is that sparkling and that removed from modern society. They don't care where the water takes them, be it the beginning or the end, because they are so at peace with each other, their surrounding, and with the world.
- Mia 


If you have any thoughts or feelings about this poem write a comment!