Mathemaku No. 6a

by Bob Grumman

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(dawn) (knapsacks + raft + Isla)nd = 4/ 3 p (boyhood)3


COMMENTARY: Since 4/ 3 pi r-cubed is the formula for the volume of a sphere, "Mathemaku 6a" fairly straightforwardly reads (I hope) as an equation of some dawn's Huckleberryish outing on a raft with a sphere whose radius is boyhood. That the parenthesis holding the sum, "knapsacks + raft + island," can't contain its final term is intended to speak of destinations beyond the ability of mathematics or science to enclose them -- and is, for me, the central felicity of the poem, if it has one.


Data entry by Judy Bemis
Hard copy provided by Geri Sullivan

Data entry by Judy Bemis

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