Saturday, April 24, 2010

napowrimo: april 24

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philip glass
for Sesame Street
1979

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2 comments:

Dot Hearn said...

When We Dance
by Dot

One two three let me count the colors
four five six they roll past illuminated
seven
now I stop the intersecting prisms collide
elongating expanding exploding until
their shattered images disperse and
reconvene
red bleeding yellow humming into orange and green
with blues dangling and violet stringing and
I twirl with delight
ribbons blowing through the angles of the light
I count again
one two three four five six
open close
enclose
ping.

Deb Scott said...

silly girl, math is for boys!
by Deb

in the beginning i felt = to the task
i could do the beginning
no more adventurous than learning to read
a different language yes
but i was up for the journey
certain in my innocent belief
there would always be kind guides

down the road i began to stumble
bumping my brain on fabulous fractions
fascinating in form and interesting to view although conversion
proved to be my first true downfall
but i braved my way forward
even though this logic did not
seem logical to me

then junior high happened
and i was told in many ways and words
that i was a girl (duh)
and math was for boys
and my questions about X and it not making sense were met with irritation
and the humiliation of the male
teacher yelling, quit asking why
just quit asking why
it is a rule
just follow the rule
there is no why
i didn't understand Y

punishment too when i brought home
the grades, tacked to the bulletin board
circled in red, mother's hand scribbled
'on restriction for 6 weeks
until you quit messing around
you are smarter than this'
her disapproval screaming from the paper
but i didn't understand mom
and i would not be asking more questions
better to just act like a girl
and say i am no good at math

oh how i wish there had been
sesame street for me
those spinning wheels
color and form and lines linking
and fantastic flashing light, i think even i
could have understood
that math could be art
and any true art
is for everyone