For something that means nothing
Zero can be so intriguing.
You can surely see an apple, even 10 raised to the negative one of an apple
But nor zero apple (or is it apples?)
A ten, a billion, even google and infinity
Comes before zero in the alphabet parade.
Zero is the great equalizer
The biggest or the smallest of numbers
The most mundane or exotic of numbers
Are all equally easy when added to zero.
It transforms into a black hole in multiplication
And swallows everything beside it indiscriminately
It can be choosy and temperemental
Dividing into zero is your ticket to the black hole
Or you quickly become a pariah when zero is divided into you.
How else can we explain...
Poor men who have nothing, yet feel so richly blessed
And rich men who have everything, yet feel utterly empty.
Or a child giving out her last candy to comfort a friend
Flooded with goodness and happiness in her simple gift.
Or parents who have lost a child
Choose to transform their grief into concrete actions
That will save many children.
Something out of nothing
That's zero in the mathematics of life.
What a lovely poem, Maria! I especially like the way you extend the emotional meanings of division by zero.
ReplyDeleteI would like to see you make a short video of this, either of you reading it, or your voice-over with some drawings or other visuals illustrating it, and enter it into It's a really thought-provoking piece, both mathematically and humanistically.