POETRY PLAYGROUND

I Mean Worms

A prime 53 poem

Image by (via Canva)

Numbers party in my head.
Please give me all the
words instead.

While figures float and frolic,
don’t say algebra’s
“symbolic”.

Adding letters doesn’t mean
I’ll work them like a
cash machine.

Just like early birds,
I eat words.

I’ve taken a little artistic license with this poem, for while I absolutely adore words and language and all the idiosyncratic combinations waiting to be discovered, I don’t mind math, in particular algebra. There’s a certain poetry in the way numerals and pro-numerals can be manipulated and still arrive at the same endpoint.

But if my back was to the wall and I had to choose between words and numbers, I’m choosing team words every time.

I discovered this Prime 53 form through this Press 53 summer challenge (it’s closed now, but I’m delighted to have another form for my list!)