THE NEW MATH, BY ME

09 17 14

Farcical equations
of numbers and notoriety
pollute a once-attuned logolepsy
with the twang of sociology's
scheming mathematics insistent
on fishing for solutions
in drowning oceans of
assumed quantity
as the pirouetting acumen
of a consensus
sideswipes adamant assurances
of presence certified in absence

The consistency of fate
officiates a tug-of-war between
resignation and redemption
manifesting questions asked
over shoulders of a chorded voice

Inclusion fails to compute
choking on the greener grass leashes
of mainstream motherboards
understood only in the numbered codes
articulating the Atlantis of
esteem's subjugated formula

A slow burn of fictional reciprocation
talks sullen ink into common-law
confederacy with acerbic gasoline

(Vices scream in third-degree
discoveries behind the monotone
elucidations of poetical devices)

At day's end a kiss
of monitor and keyboard beneath
the blanket of a muted laptop
trifle with the undisclosed sneer
of an imagination more inclined
to impale whims of quirky balladry
on the generic hard-ons of
galvanized masses than to court
the cores of moisture that would
consummate their most accessible equation

Author's Note

The Eagles version is "not available in my country" so I had to go with the decidedly inferior version of the guy that co-wrote it.

Reviews

[Frieda P]

Is logolepsy a communicative disease...you are a little devil sometimes. I'm already freaked out you wrote a poem with 'math' in the title, you know how me and numbers don't compute, on the other hand, I have to give it to you, this one is contagious, you pirouetted right throw the landmines with hardly none the wiser to your calculated third degree screams.

Generic hard-ons are for sissy cream puffs , I'd rather rock n' rock with the likes of Dali...just saying. xo

[kublakhan27]

Haha It could be, but I think it's more likely that the ones with it just seem to be able to detect others with it ;) Well you know me love, being the beacon of wry irony that I am haha I've been dogged by a numeric problem for a long time, but the harder I try to solve it, the more conscious I become of the problem...none the wiser indeed ;P

Of course your support always makes all the difference...rock on Mrs.R ;) xo

[Rita L. Sev]

I have to say that this is the first time I have enjoyed anything with "math" in the title. You managed to come up with a formula both complex and elegant, Steve.

[kublakhan27]

Haha I wish I could say the same thing :) This wasn't the most enjoyable write, but it seems to have generated a lot of response so that makes it all worthwhile...so glad you enjoyed it Rita.

[Delmar Cooper]

A work of genius, I guess. I drowned in the word sea as I slipped my grip from the buoyant first stanza.

[kublakhan27]

Thank you.

[Delmar Cooper]

You are welcome. You keep writing; I'll keep thinking.

[Delmar Cooper]

I didn't do all that.

[AprilRN1210]

sometimes those answers just don't add up.. I enjoyed math in school because it is cut and dry unlike nursing, but one wrong number in there and the whole thing is screwed up... I admit a lot of this is over my head mister as my brain clearly isn't as big as yours, but the overall feeling still hits me... ((hugs)) to you... let's hope redemption wins over resignation.. that tug of war can be quite taxing on an already damaged spirit..

[kublakhan27]

It's been a bit of a strain finding things that add up these days my friend...it definitely isn't a case of brain size...you've got a steady career and I'm on steady welfare, so if anyone has the big brain here it's you :) Actually, nobody has gotten the literal meaning of this one yet so I clearly tripped over my own tongue (or pen) in the process of writing this one, but considering the fact that I haven't gotten more than 16 reviews for something in a couple of months, not many people notice anyway...thanks for sticking with me April, it's an ever-dwindling group ((hugs))

[icelandicblue]

We live in a qualitative world being forced into a quantitative vacuum where tragedies are simply statistics while the abacus calculates the bill. Like Secret Agent Man...they've given you a number and taken away your name. We should strive to break the binary codes we mistake for living.

[kublakhan27]

Nice to see you again my friend...I feel like a secret agent man around here sometimes...I'm glad you enjoyed the piece, and thank you for your insights, which are spot-on.

[willweb]

Math was never one of my best subjects and now I can see why. Though this one Kulakhan27 adds up nicely. It reminds me of a scientist in a moive trying to compute some theory on a blackboard with numbers, symbols and letters scattered everywhere, but somehow it all comes together to make sense. What I took from this piece is, theses words and phrases are part of the equation, but without someone actually reading them, the sum means nothing. Just my take.

[kublakhan27]

Thanks so much will, the pages on which I was working this out look very much like that haha It took a while to get this one out, and there are a multitude of things going on here, but your take is one that definitely applies...I long for a sum that does mean something, but I don't think it's in the cards...so glad you enjoyed this one.

[Pryde Foltz]

At day's end a kiss
of monitor and keyboard beneath
the blanket of a muted laptop
trifle with the undisclosed sneer
of an imagination more inclined
to impale whims of quirky balladry
on the generic hard-ons of
galvanized masses than to court
the cores of moisture that would
consummate their most accessible equation

The poet's words a comfort for other but not necessarily for the poet. Extreme and masterful, Steve.

[kublakhan27]

I hear you all the way on that Pryde...thanks so much.

[Einstein Noodle]

ok! so you are correcting "logolepsy" .. now do you mean "chorted"? like your poem lots of ways to take it ..

sounds like someone suffering the frustrations of a statistics class :) i like the turn from math to fire and burns .. then ends with a poet at the keyboard .. almost makes three separate poems if you wanted to .. add to that (i agree with Jennie) lots of layers, side roads and word smithing .. never disappointed ... always challenged by your poetry
E.

[kublakhan27]

Haha No but I do like that word and it probably would fit ;) I did in fact give consideration to splitting this one up and may still do at some point...there were tons of things going on in my head when this one got written, and most people have picked up on a lot of them, but only one has actually picked up on the main theme...I can tell you that it is related to the last piece of yours that I read, but it's tucked under a lot of layers, so subconsciously, I may have been hoping that nobody notices cuz if they do, they'll find something very bitter...thanks so much my friend, always a pleasure knowing that my work speaks to you.

[The Rock And Roll Cowbo..]

Well you said a mouthful for sure… so much in life doesn't seem to make sense, especially all the pain and violence in the world… it just don't add up to humanity.

[kublakhan27]

Thou hast said it my friend...so glad you enjoyed it, this one was not an easy write...

[The Rock And Roll Cowboy(REBEL WITH A CAUSE)]

I can understand why, but you did it, and did it well.

[R Smith]

ok your trying to screw my mind up, the last stanza needs an x-certificate by the way but before hand i've been to Atlantis and back, my favourite holiday resort by the way, i've been doused in acerbic gasoline and committed vices with poetical devices, its a wonderful poem mate but now I have to go get my brain washed and dried before even think about dealing with any farcical equations.....oh boy! do I need sleep :)

[kublakhan27]

Haha Love your review my friend...I'll probably tack the filter on soon but I was waiting to see if anyone would actually read it first...it wasn't an easy write, and the notes I compiled in the process of doing it make doctor's writing look like calligraphy...I'm going to buy Atlantis one of these days but you will always be a welcome visitor...so glad you enjoyed it Richard :)