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Personal Note:
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Poem
Myself I’ve never been
much of a mathematician 
Algebra and stuff
didn’t add up to much
when I made the decision 
to respond to you 
our multi-versed 
mathematical magician
Because even I know
all things aren’t equal 

I don’t know what it’s like
to grow up black and poor
and to wonder why
other kids have more
and why no one looks sideways
when white kids walk into a store

It seems this world for you
uses a subtraction
and division equation
Giving people who look like me
a multiplication table
We rise to the top like cream
even when you’re more capable
Those who say 
“Things have changed”
are living in a fable
or maybe they think it’s fine
because they have lots on their table

You have no reason to apologize 
I see the sad in your eyes
That happens
when others try 
to bring you down to size
But I sense a power 
beyond the treatment they rationalize
There is scripture flowing from your pen
Telling us what your people have dealt with
over and over again
You help me conceptualize that pain
which enables me to see and realize
why some might try to bury their blues
with drugs and booze
When they think  
“Nothing is going to change”
They also think 
“F it I’ve got nothing to loose!”
But you you’re a word warrior 
that’s not the path you choose
Rewrite it
Rethink it
Turn it into good news

Sorrows on a graph, 
Death and molestations
All these sadness quotients
are not merely estimations
They defy gravity 
and my limited calculations
But I can’t read your sorrow 
without me acknowledging
I see your situation 
And I hear your brave 
heartfelt communication 
While still I wonder
how you cope with this frustration 
Maybe it’s the angels
That grace your constellation 

The way you wrote it
and I read it
If I were your teacher
I’d give you all the credit
Besides in this case
you’re the teacher
I say hallelujah brother 
your life is a prayer 
keep on speaking preacher 

So I ask
what can a math challenged
middle aged white dude do?
People need more than compassion 
for what they’ve been through
A thought can grow exponentially 
beyond me and you
Until it becomes true
Action Maximization
by the many for the few




Dedicated to Michael Ellis after reading his Poem “A Poem for My Algebra Teacher” Please read it.
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