Test Prep in Triptych

 i. 

slow there, and here expand 

common strands 

run steep and wide, the strange

vocabulary very academic

like the smell of an ink pen

your finger, use it to trace 

the craftsmanship of a cube

then cup the sphere 

where you stand

strain and maintain, turn

to your neighbor and explain

the endless 

compulsion to explain

ii.

fractions are soft, a loss

without total loss

the algebraic expression

is an opportunity to set right

the brokenness in the world, to reveal 

and make known the exact question 

know this and then gaze 

into the brain of incarnation

a notion now in breathing meat

iii. 

think of what you

expected to learn

this is the how

I leave you 

to solve for why

Poetics Tuesday: To ma'am/sir