My father-in-law, Dom Gualtieri, teaches math online at Saint Leo University (my sister-in-law teaches geology online too; quite the family I married into!). Tekia Johnson, a Sergeant in the US Army, was stationed in Iraq when she wrote the following poem for one of her assignments for Dom’s College Algebra course. I am posting it with Tekia’s permission. I hope you enjoy it as much as I did.
Math is more than just a game
No pattern or equation is ever the same
Math is used for more than counting and calculating
It is all about how you write it and manipulating
Love is a math problem, let me quickly explain
The addition of a person in your life may seem plain
but the division from that person is what makes it new
So you try to subtract the love to show the world you are through
But then when you find true love, you seem ready to multiply
Willing to give your whole quotient to them for no reason why
Or is it that love is not math at all?
How about life? Is it a math problem unsolved?
Notice how numbers cross over each other, never to dissolve
With multiplication, division, addition and subtraction everywhere
It is a wonder that many don’t notice the math in life there
You work hard everyday to ADD to your life
But you SUBTRACT with fear if you run from strife
You DIVIDE yourself from others to set yourself apart
You MULTIPLY with someone to show the love in your heart
So why should I be afraid of mathematics?
It is just numbers that work out differently like schematics
It holds no illusion, it is plain as day
But then again, life is a surprise so who knows what the equation could say from day to day…
I guess math is life and it is just that way.