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    Parker Owens
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Poetry posted in this category are works of fiction. Names, places, characters, events, and incidents are created by the authors' imaginations or are used fictitiously. Any resemblances to actual persons (living or dead), organizations, companies, events, or locales are entirely coincidental.
Note: While authors are asked to place warnings on their stories for some moderated content, everyone has different thresholds, and it is your responsibility as a reader to avoid stories or stop reading if something bothers you. 

Occasional Poetry - 74. Mathematics Review

Indulge me, I beg, I don't pull your leg; your math to review from Algebra II. But I doubt your old teacher did it this way....

Quadratics

Parabolas, you might suppose,
are curves which every person knows,
for you can find them everywhere,
from tropic heat to polar floes.

Equations with an x to square
are curves, not lines, when you compare
them side by side with x that's plain,
or lines bereft of x and bare.

The answer roots for which we strain
when the x-axis cuts in twain
a curve and marks its intersect
quadratic formulas obtain.

But no equation can reflect
our complex conjugate effect,
for as I kiss your curves and nose,
our roots, convergent, must connect.


Functions

A function graphed on paper can't
produce a circle, though I grant
such figures can be drawn with two
connected functions which supplant.

The function knows not what to do
when asked to make a curlicue;
back on itself it cannot turn,
no matter what the point of view.

Such problems make the stomach churn,
for x can't yield both stem and stern,
but we can plot them just the same
if parametrics you would learn.

Now function's form is not a game,
yet doubled would I bend your frame,
so my parameters you'd chant
while our relations I exclaim.

Even if these concepts proved elusive, I still appreciate comments of any kind or type.
Copyright © 2017 Parker Owens; All Rights Reserved.
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Poetry posted in this category are works of fiction. Names, places, characters, events, and incidents are created by the authors' imaginations or are used fictitiously. Any resemblances to actual persons (living or dead), organizations, companies, events, or locales are entirely coincidental.
Note: While authors are asked to place warnings on their stories for some moderated content, everyone has different thresholds, and it is your responsibility as a reader to avoid stories or stop reading if something bothers you. 
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5 minutes ago, Mikiesboy said:

Parker you know i love you .. but you have broken me.   LOL..  great pair.. dont understand them a whit. But that's okay, i can still see the brilliance in them.

 

Oh dear...I can't imagine you broken by math, my friend. Perhaps you can join my Pre Calculus class this fall? I am glad you can still see something good in them, anyhow.

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1 minute ago, Mikiesboy said:

~backs away slowly~  i can add, subtract and even calculate interest on my customer's credit cards.. but Pre calculus.. egad.. what is that??

 

(Smiles that math teacher smile)   Pre Cal is Introduction to Cool Math Stuff... At least in my class, anyway. 

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2 minutes ago, Parker Owens said:

 

(Smiles that math teacher smile)   Pre Cal is Introduction to Cool Math Stuff... At least in my class, anyway. 

sounds very tricksy to me, Parker.. that smile.. and then cool math stuff.. .. mmmm  no..LOL 

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1 hour ago, MacGreg said:

Your poems often intrigue me, Parker. These two are no different. There is math in art, therefore pairing mathematics with poetry seems apropos. That doesn't mean I understand all of the nomenclature...but I sure appreciate the messages you conjure up within the lines. 

 

In particular: yet doubled would I bend your frame, so my parameters you'd chant...

 

Good reads for a Monday morning. Cheers - Mac 

 

53 minutes ago, Parker Owens said:

 

I am very, very glad you liked that line. I doubt my school administration will let me use this one in class. 

When I first read them, I thought to myself how great this would be to read while learning math back in high school. But after reading the poems a few times over, I picked up on these subtle lines. They'd be great to read with a study partner ;) lol. Thank you for your writings, Parker.

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well done. i can barely add and subtract. when trying to add 2+2, i often get 5. that being said, i may not understand the math, but i can feel the imagery. you also brought forth memories of the hot math teacher who would say those words. never understood them but his voice....just wow:blushing:

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Perhaps if you had been teaching my maths courses I would have enjoyed them and learned a bit more. Very clever.

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1 hour ago, Mikiesboy said:

sounds very tricksy to me, Parker.. that smile.. and then cool math stuff.. .. mmmm  no..LOL 

 

I'll save you a seat, just in case you change your mind...  ;)

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19 minutes ago, BDANR said:

 

When I first read them, I thought to myself how great this would be to read while learning math back in high school. But after reading the poems a few times over, I picked up on these subtle lines. They'd be great to read with a study partner ;) lol. Thank you for your writings, Parker.

 

Definitely to be studied in pairs. Thanks so very much for reading these through and allowing me to dredge up memories of high school math. Never realized what was concealed behind those pocket protectors, eh?

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1 hour ago, Valkyrie said:

I will admit to understanding the mathematical concepts on a very rudimentary level only, but I certainly understand the cleverness.  As always, I'm amazed at how you're able to make something so dry for most sexy. :worship:  The line Mac quoted stuck out the most to me also.  The last stanza of the first poem was another standout to me.  Well done, as usual! :hug:  

 

Who says math has to be dry as toast? No need for a calculator or a slide rule! I am so glad you liked the parameter line, and that last stanza, too. Those are sometimes tricky to write - harder than solving equations. You were nice to let me bring back memories from high school Algebra class.

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Was it okay that these made me chuckle? I hate math, but I loved these... there is an almost sing-song cadence to them, especially the first, and I was able to get you meanings about... er.. bending and roots and stuff :unsure: ... I think... anyway, great writing, Parker... cheers... Gary....

Edited by Headstall
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6 minutes ago, mogwhy said:

well done. i can barely add and subtract. when trying to add 2+2, i often get 5. that being said, i may not understand the math, but i can feel the imagery. you also brought forth memories of the hot math teacher who would say those words. never understood them but his voice....just wow:blushing:

 

You had a hot math teacher? Lucky you! Or maybe I would have been dreadfully distracted had I been in your place. But who says there is no feeling in the nerd herd?  I am glad you got the gist of these; as it happens with mathematical language, the terms often can be interpreted in several...interesting... ways. Thanks again.

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8 minutes ago, dughlas said:

Perhaps if you had been teaching my maths courses I would have enjoyed them and learned a bit more. Very clever.

 

I can save you a seat this semester, if you like. I am glad that you thought these interesting and clever. Thank you very much for reading them!

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3 minutes ago, Headstall said:

Was it okay that these made me chuckle? I hate math, but I loved these... there is an almost sing-song cadence to them, especially the first, and I was able to get you meanings about... er.. bending and roots and stuff :unsure: ... I think... anyway, great writing, Parker... cheers... Gary....

 

I am glad you got a chuckle from these. The meanings were perhaps more forward than in some poems, though as my professors used to say, the solutions aren't trivial. Nobody likes dreary days filled with rote calculation, but I was hoping readers might come to appreciate the frolic in mathematics that can happen from time to time. One can even do Pre-Calculus calisthenics, I understand. Thanks so much for reading and commenting on these!

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I never liked calculus... But maybe a private lesson with you would have changed that professor. I'm sure I'd enjoy equations. Beautiful poems.

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1 hour ago, BlindAmbition said:

I never liked calculus... But maybe a private lesson with you would have changed that professor. I'm sure I'd enjoy equations. Beautiful poems.

 

A private lesson with a willing student? Surely that could be arranged. And one of the first lessons is on Functions....

 

Thanks so much for commenting and for reading these. 

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7 hours ago, Parker Owens said:

 

You had a hot math teacher? Lucky you! Or maybe I would have been dreadfully distracted had I been in your place. But who says there is no feeling in the nerd herd?  I am glad you got the gist of these; as it happens with mathematical language, the terms often can be interpreted in several...interesting... ways. Thanks again.

well i thought he was hot :P tennis/track coach. filled he clothes well. dark hair. full bread. just a little on the short side about 5'8''

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1 hour ago, Parker Owens said:

 

A private lesson with a willing student? Surely that could be arranged. And one of the first lessons is on Functions....

 

Thanks so much for commenting and for reading these. 

Sir, I've always been a good student when it comes to learning functions.

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1 hour ago, mogwhy said:

well i thought he was hot :P tennis/track coach. filled he clothes well. dark hair. full bread. just a little on the short side about 5'8''

 

All my math teachers were clever, older gents. Not enough to distract me, I'm afraid. You were fortunate.

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1 hour ago, Lux Apollo said:

Very clever flow.

 

You are really nice to say so. Sometimes, the last stanza is the very devil to write. 

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