Algebra

by Susan Cameron

(with my deepest apologies to Joyce Kilmer)


I think that I shall never be
A fan of x times y plus z.

Within parentheses they nest,
With pi and log and all the rest;

I sort the segment from the ray,
And disentangle i from j,

And graph parabolas with care;
I plot the points, come up for air,

And know the true source of my pain:
I'll never use this stuff again.

The textbook's size amazes me --
For this we sacrificed a tree!


Susan Cameron, copyright 2012