The mathematical connection for this poem is the fact that it was inspired by regrets for a missed opportunity in a mathematics class -- an opportunity missed by me and thus by one of my students. There are so many ways to be wrong!
Lament of a Professor
at the End of the Spring Semester by JoAnne Growney
I took an extra step to bridge the gap
between us, blind to your matching backward step.
We've moved in tandem until I'm angry
at you, and at me — I thought you needed
lenience, but reprimands instead
would have changed the direction of our cadence
and given you a chance to lead the dance.
A poem about another of my students, "The Prince of Algebra" is available here. And this link will take you to the poems in my collection, My Dance is Mathematics (Paper Kite Press, 2006).
No comments:
Post a Comment