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Totem/A Course in Combinatorics
by Kathleen WilsonIf you meet my eyes
looking over the hydrangeas
how do you know your computer will work
what are your lower bounds
what the parameters the minimal explanation
of our complicated interaction?
how could we generalize to maximize our aim
what probabalistic asymptotic
computational construct could make this
roux for two
covering arrays displaying
our pairwise compatiblity
Now into the serene pool the look
amidst the framing moss and tall grass
nodes, degrees, diameters,
our eyes are bubble sorts recursively constructed
staring through bamboo channels
floating rafts of iris
How can you keep me
pristine, singular, for yourself against
suspicious users unwilling to pay the price?
embed me
watermark imperceptibly
what you want to keep
Through paths into the hills
we've relaxed our plan thanks to your intent
let go one end of it
that need not be on the circumference
we're decomposing bridges
found low ceilinged a darkish cave
a subpath of our outer walk,
a subgraph of a particular kind
let this be our focus,
the long time representative
surface of us has wrapped around itself
and our embrace has turned spherical
our proof is elementary but not trivial
consider the rational coefficients
the number of congruences
the power of our prime
the bound is the best possible identity
we omit the details 06/07/2007 Author's Note: Published in "Totem", the Caltech Literary magazine, June, 2009.
--poem with thanks to mathematicians Rick Wilson, Charles Colbourn, Frank Hsu, Takashi Kitagawa,and Mark Ellingham, and the gardens of Kamakura for their influence on this poem-- written at the
International Workshop on Combinatorics, Keio University,
Yokohama, Japan, June, 2007... I was invited to read this poem to the mathematicians at the conference party tonight as part of the "entertainment". My husband (whose textbook is called "A Course in Combinatorics" has checked it for "mistakes".)
Posted on 06/08/2007
Copyright © 2024 Kathleen Wilson
| Member Comments on this Poem |
| Posted by Kristina Woodhill on 06/20/07 at 03:32 AM A fascinating combination of worlds and thoughts construct this and I am mesmerized by "our eyes are bubble sorts recursively constructed" and "the long time representative
surface of us has wrapped around itself
and our embrace has turned spherical". This is a singular piece and I have to say the word "probabalistic" just cracks me up!! :)
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| Posted by Philip F De Pinto on 06/21/07 at 10:42 AM there is much in this poem, that fits the aesthetic bill. much in it to delight the word inquisitive. there is much in it of the feeling and nuance of architecture with its geometry of purpose and words which are raised from their surfaces, that an eye might fancy a feel o'er their braille. for me it is a sin for words to remain flat on their surfaces and you break no such cardinal rule, but all your words envigor the spirit. |
| Posted by Matthew Sharp on 07/12/07 at 05:30 AM such a fine graceful line in between the physics your analogy's represent and the equation itself.
you bring life to such a robust field overlooked by most through uninterest.
you're awesome. |
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