the four mighty things i've learned.

I've learned,

that I know no more about algebra than I failed in the 11th grade.

That centuries from now, my bones will be carved up by

some future dinoflagellate

in that ooze they call spring,  when water takes over the universe.

And their pissed-off king will say,

this person didn't know s**t about algebra

And that's what i'm afraid of;

and that's why I never learned how to swim.

Just the thought of water

covering my head and that extreme moment

when I'm breathing liquids

and phytoflagellates, and condoms

tossed in the river by dying lovers.

And since we had "the talk" about the afterlife,

the other three learned things

don't matter.

Reviews

[max_vonnegut]

Hello, I gotta say this was kinda exciting to read. The third stanza was my favorite. 100/100 for sure!

[h d e rushin]

thank you so much max for stopping by to visit me......dana

[Beccy]

We come in to this world knowing only how to find our mother's breast. What we encounter, and 'learn' as we traverse the rocky road of life sustains (and often confuses,) our short three score year and ten; and is undoubtedly irrelevant to what we will need in the eternity we call afterlife.

Thus it is that it truly 'don't matter.' and why I so enjoy your writing. Beccy.

[h d e rushin]

thank you so much Beccy for those kind words of inspiration...dana

[emmajoy]

'And their pissed-off king will say, - this person didn't know s**t about algebra ' A nun at my convent school almost said the same thing when we met up ten years on.. true!

Couldn't help it, i grinned all the way through your words, tripped over the -flagellates and then wondered if my brothers knew aforesaid lady! Somehow you bring a past to life that i almost regret not having but of course, in a completely different way. You notice 'stuff', you use its meaning, wrap it around space and make even 'personal items' appropriately creative.. or is that a pun gone wrong!

Spirited writing writ in sonorous honour of days past ..

[h d e rushin]

thank you emmajoy for those wonderful comments..Your the best..dana

[Ed Hart]

it was trial and error factoring that got me, that and peggy sue who lived next door and let me touch her almost breasts

[h d e rushin]

Your almost....my none. We obviously lived next to the same peggy sue.......lol
Thanks Ed for stopping by...dana

[W.k.kortas]

The last two stanzas are possibly Edgar Lee Masters-esque, and I never, ever, make a Masters comparison lightly. What strikes me about this piece is the balance between the personal/everyday and the global/arechetypal; this seems to skew a litlle more toward an emphasis on the latter than the general run of your work. That is, it goes without saying, merely an observation, and certainly not a criticism. The river of life here is rife with condoms and microscopic nasties, and it takes a great deal of skill and deftness to say that's so without it being jarring or amateurish.

[h d e rushin]

Edgar Lee Masters-esque?

Me?

I love you....dana

[jacob erin-cilberto]

i wonder if any of it will matter in the afterlife...

we will just be dust particles floating around saying to each other "who the hell needs equations and imaginary numbers? maybe this whole existence was just imaginary and i am 'i squared'--"

funny how many never learn to swim, especially when we are made up of 70 some percent water...

love this poem...will it turn into "dinoflagellate" too someday?

[h d e rushin]

thank you dear Jacob for those kind insights......dana