Saturday, January 13, 2024

1140. Arithmetic - Carl Sandburg


Arithmetic is where numbers fly like pigeons 

in and out of your head.

Arithmetic tells you how many you lose or win 

if you know how many you had 

before you lost or won.

Arithmetic is seven eleven all good children 

go to heaven — or five six bundle of sticks.

Arithmetic is numbers you squeeze from your head 

to your hand to your pencil to your paper 

till you get the answer.

Arithmetic is where the answer is right 

and everything is nice and you can look 

out of the window and see the blue sky — or the

answer is wrong and you have to start all over 

and try again and see how it comes out this time.

If you take a number and double it and double it again 

and then double it a few more times, the number 

gets bigger and bigger and goes higher and higher 

and only arithmetic can tell you what the number is 

when you decide to quit doubling.

Arithmetic is where you have to multiply — 

and you carry the multiplication table in your head and 

hope you won't lose it.

If you have two animal crackers, one good and one bad, 

and you eat one and a striped zebra 

with streaks all over him eats the other, 

how many animal crackers will you have if somebody

  offers you five six seven and you say No no no and you say

Nay nay nay and you say Nix nix nix?

If you ask your mother for one fried egg for breakfast and 

she gives you two fried eggs and you eat both of them, 

who is better in arithmetic, you or your mother?

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