When on my 12th year
father gave me a birthday card
with the number of days, I had lived printed
inside it. I had to sit down and wait for my heart
to stop leaping over imaginary walls.
There were 4.382 walls to jump over,
It took me days, by the end of which
I was much older than I should have been.
When I tried to explain my feelings to him,
he grinned, often that grin was more a sneer
as he poked an incriminating finger at my face.
It was a running joke for him, I guess.
What does a boy do with that kind of number?
A day is a long time for a kid, but that number
seemed like a worm cut in two, both ends
wriggling away to God knows where.
I took the card and pinned it to a bedroom wall,
daily I would add more numbers with a blue marker
until father made me wash the days away.
I bought a pocket calculator,
when father died, mother helped me
slip it into his coffin,
it seemed the right thing to do.
Have to go to the store
Make the list in order of need
I know you want stuff
But we are no friend to greed
Prices have went up
Must recalculate desire
See, that's Jesus
Rescuing you from the mire
Nope, don't you do it
The clearance aisle is NOT for you
Yes, but maybe what I need
Is in the "other shoe"
Crap! My calculator reset
Shame awaits me at checkout
Take courage, little one
Jesus never rewards fear and doubt
I wished I weren't alone
I'm so tired of carrying this pack
Years of sorrow and grief
Too acquainted with want and lack
I wonder what it's like
To enter a store as a child
With no thought of...anything
Just purchasing what your heart desires
If I could have anything I wanted
I would restore souls marked by trauma
So that communities could feast
Without incident of trouble or drama
...and be free
Written by Trudy Schrader on 02-02-2026
Horses gallop through my mind
They don't stop they just rewind
Piano keys play lullabies in my dreams
Logic’s tossed into the bin
Love's a game I’ll never win
But I’m diving headfirst in
Or so it seems
I wait for eleven eleven
To whisper wishes to the sky
Love's made me crazy
Can’t you see
She’s the only equation I believe
If she were math
I’d beat a calculator
She’s the answer I’ll solve sooner or later
My little heart
It sparkles bright
Like city lights in the dead of night
Thinking of her makes my thoughts combust
I’m not the same
I’ve lost control
She’s the melody that fills my soul
Love’s a mess but trust me
It’s a must
As much as I have dared Mathematics,
Also been found struggling through terms to fix
Other topics; an instance...
That does seem of same sequence,
But might set on calculating conflicts.
So I celebrate,
How CALCULATOR actuate,
Answers to debate!
Miss Faith Odunsi on a global scale,
Represent Nigeria so well, I hail...
Your pleasure's difficulty;
Defines you a specialty.
This champ's story isn't a fairytale!
So enjoy your win...
Here, more new stories begin,
To place up your skin.
Now, the world best mathematics student,
Fast as she aptly nailed herself prudent,
Yet beautifully sound black...
Whose brilliance sparks her attack,
That defend her stakes upfront so ardent.
So much, I respect-
Pure energy of effect
By which you connect...
I stopped writing...
For a moment, I never knew myself
What am I searching for every layer of this shelf?
Could it be you? The one who told me to 'keep writing'
Should I thank you for breaking down my walls?
Might as well write down this thoughts, for you to find out
I always think about you, waiting for your call
Not sure how many times I convinced myself to get over you, that even the calculator can't count.
I stopped writing....
Maybe one day I'll try to keep going,
Ignore the voices in my head that keeps on pulling me down and never stopped repeating
'cause it's time to let go of the things that are not worth having.
I wanna keep writing...
So I tried composing and take down the words that even myself wasn't able to comprehend
Should I consider it 'the end'?
Became undeniably dumb towards you, believed to be the craziest thing
I'll keep writing...
Someday, I wanna be so sure of my thoughts
I wanna be brave for 'what ever happens, happens'
I envy you for having that kind of perspective and was able to stand for what you believe.
So I'll keep writing hoping one day, I'll finally have the courage to put my words into action.
Calculator
My calculator is
too worried about
fog getting inside and
stopping her from
functioning properly or
functioning at all.
Seeing our ancestors as
they once were in
their unexperienced state and
condition should warn off the fog from
trying to get into
the house.
Never be swayed by a woman in need,
For "billing" is her constant creed.
"I'm hungry," "my gas is dry,"
Her words, a drain, a constant sigh.
Rescue not a woman from poverty's grasp,
For she'll seek escape, and leave at last.
Her heart, a calculator, cold and grey,
Values measured in economic way.
Survival tops feelings in her book,
A lady's love, a financial hook.
She seeks a man with deeper pockets still,
A richer partner, her heart's thrill.
No motherly love to nurture and mend,
Her regard for men, their financial trend.
Multiple suitors, a comparative game,
Her independence, a treasure to claim.
Few claim to help, but seek gain,
Interest and advantage, their aim.
Commanders, helpers, or so they say,
But men, beware, for you'll pay.
Men, work harder, be determined too,
Never look to a woman for help, 'tis true.
For in the end, it will go awry,
And leave you drained, with a heavy sigh.
Words made up with their letters
Of consonants and vowels.
Paragraphs from sentences
Which serve as verbal bowels.
All letters from A to Z
Play an important role
Every time we read and write...
Each one has a goal.
Numbers used when we decide
That we would rather count.
They are used in many ways
To come to an amount.
Use a calculator when
An answer may seem far.
Letters and numbers together,
You have algebra.
When the alphabet is soup
Inside a bowl for you,
What was 26 instead
Can become 62.
I wonder if it is true,
That we produce more E-waste than food for you and me.
If I had a magic wand on me,
I would turn my electronics waste into food for more than just me.
As I do not possess one,
My best hope is to find someone,
To invent the technology,
That is not too stodgy,
Won't ruin my teeth,
And is generally good for my health.
Until that happens,
I will keep using my brains,
Instead of buying yet another calculator,
And food from my Garden I will continue to share with those, next door,
Who sold out to the developer,
Who promised them a life filled with technology that is better,
And bigger than anything they had before,
Neglecting to tell them they would soon become food poor.
Home for sale
Home on fire
Fire in the sky
Fire and brimstone
Brimstone and sulfur
Brimstone and infernal dioxide
Dioxide evangelism
Dioxide emissions
Emissions aggress as amorphous
Emissions control
Control of ourselves (and other selves)
Control the carbon
Carbon is terminal and isotopic
Carbon is a footprint
Footprint reduction
Footprint calculator
Calculator online
Calculator broken
Broken promises
Broken bones on a broken planet
Planet Earth
Planet in peril
Peril is peculiar and personal
Peril is graver danger
Danger inherent and external
Danger zone
Zone out
Zone in
In favor of being
In the know
Know thyself
Know the truth
Truth or dare
Truth hurts
Hurts to see
Hurts to breathe
Breathe deeply
Breathe slowly
Slowly dying
Slowly fading
Fading hope
Fading away
Away from here
Away from there
There is no time
There is no escape
Escape plan
Escape route
Route 66
Route to nowhere
Nowhere to go
Nowhere to hide
Hide
Go...
Why would someone destroy my calculator ~ it just doesn’t add up
Meter is like math in my mind
and I cannot go down that path
of confusion again.
I remember the pain
of multiplication and division,
I dismiss the prosody of stresses or not.
Syllable count is my specialty,
as easy as 1-2-3 A-B-C.
Where is my calculator?
Where is my dictionary?
the sum of our parts
the brain the calculator ~
fallible the fall
I'm flabby but fit
At a bar I sit
I play my guitar
then squeeze into my car
I'm dumb but I'm smart
I buy modern art
then I load up my cart
to sell at flea mart
I'm happy but sad
'cos 2 + 2 I can't add
Thought I'd reached nadir
Pop bought me calculator
I'm old but I'm young
Come see my tongue
Taste buds still sprout ~
That's why my tummy sticks out
WON TO FREE
I was never mutch good at speling;
I faled evry speling be.
And wen it kame to mathmatiks
You koodn’t kount on me.
I yoost to start of oh kay,
But, arfter won to free,
My mined wood go completely blanc
And ide be all at see
But now I’ve solved my problems;
It’s as easy as ABC.
I have a calculator
And spell check on my PC
26th May 2023
WTF poetry contest
Sponsor - John Lawless
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