Let X equal the quantity of all quantities of X
Let X equal your warmth. It burns
during the summer, when the sun
does not forgive or forget. The days
of warmth keep me cold. In heat we
rest ice cubes on our pulse points and
let it melt, cold as hot wax on skin.
Water drips from wrist to the inner
folds of our elbows, a river of veins.
And when the cube melts down, you
wipe your skin with a white washcloth
and soak the river up dry. But I
bathe and almost drown in the thaw.
And the washcloth turns red, like tongues.
But X is not infinite, so on the next line,
Let X equal the number of tongues
I chopped off to forgive and forget,
because your warmth does not thaw
and my arms now are rivers frozen.
This poem was inspired by a portion of David Auburn's play called Proof, which was made into a movie in 2005 starring Gwyneth Paltrow and my lover Jake Gyllenhaal. Part of the movie focuses on the dwindling mind of this old mathematician, whose genius is being replaced by his insanity. He starts writing what he thinks are mathematical proofs, but which are merely incoherent ramblings. When I read this however, I read it as poetry. I was moved by the sadness, the stillness, the freedom. And it's funny how I chose to limit my own version to the constraints of this original poem's form, when I initially admire it for its originality. I guess its simplicity and candor impressed me. There are no flowers, just the facts, just what is, and sometimes, that poetry is the hardest to write. This is the original:
Happy Poetry Thursday all. And Happy Holidays!Let X equal the quantity of all quantities of X. Let X equal the cold. It is cold in December. The months of cold equal November through February. There are four months of cold, and four of heat, leaving four months of indeterminate temperature. In February it snows. In March the Lake is a lake of ice. In September the students come back and the bookstores are full. Let X equal the month of full bookstores. The number of books approaches infinity as the number of months of cold approaches four. I will never be as cold now as I will in the future. The future of cold is infinite. The future of heat is the future of cold. The bookstores are infinite and so are never full except in September...
Labels: Poetry, Writing Prompts
13 Comments:
Love what you did with your site honey! It rocks!
And . . .
because your warmth does not thaw
and my arms now are rivers frozen.
I love that!!!! Let me guess, the direction your rivers flowed was outward towards your love.
Beautiful
Chilling!
I love it.
If I were gay, if that is the politically correct term, then I would fight you for Jake G. I think my fav part was the beginning. I am a math freak, call me a nerd. I do equations in my head for fun, and I loved the X being included like a variable. Ingenious!
Chelle..so sorry I have been missing you..been so very busy with the new job, the holidays..and just life as you well, you know it can just take over when ever it feels like..:)Hopefully it will get better after the holidays..mmmm I see you are a Jake Gyllenhaalic fan..you have great taste..as I am a big fan myself..lol
Chelle, I want to wish you and yours a very warm and wonderful Christmas..love you ..m
I remember that movie and how moving those proofs were ~ how sad it made me feel to know they were considered the rantings of a crazy person. Good job with this poem. It's lovely and strong.
Lots of passion in this poem!
I love the new look to the blog. Very chic.;)
The poem who wrote is a great interpretation of the original. It draws you in and shows depths of feelings.
Have a very Merry Christmas
I like the idea of this poem. Now I need to read the play.
nuts, i shouldve gotten you a copy of the play... fsg publishes it.
love, mel
I'm glad you actually use the word "drown" in this poem because that's exactly the experience that the intense longing and unsolvable paradox of this poem seem to offer.
To echo Dennis, I love the ending, and I picture the narrator's frozen arms reaching ever outward, empty.
Great poem.
Wonderful poem! I'm an artsy-math/science or science/math-artsy person so I'm drawn to the usage of x. Again, loved this!
Please check out the new blog I created to give people a forum to advertise new posts to their creative blogs. If we get most of the Poetry Thursday participants to use it, for starters, we could all see a lot more traffic.
Exposure
hey Chelle...just checking in to see how your holiday was..great I hope..we had a marvelous time it was just right..if I am unable to stop back before new Years..I do wish you a blessed new year..go out and have a wonderful safe...kinda takes the care freeness out of it..hhhmm well be safe anyway and have a wonderful fun and just plain ole giddy time..:)take care sweetie..m
Post a Comment
<< Home