The Sum of an Essay
The square root of a hook
Multiplied by transitional information,
Which introduces a thesis.
The sum of a topic sentence
And partial quotes and evidence,
Divided by analysis, then tripled.
The remainder of three body paragraphs,
Divided by minutia,
Equals a conclusion
Then, as the last few lines
Wither into white nothingness,
A profound idea is forced
Into the remaining space:
A bright eureka of meaning
Added to the end of an essay
As if these words were more
Than a mere formula, more
Than inanimate smears of ink
Filling an innocent page
With algebraic marks that mean
Less than nothing
To binary writers
And their robotic readers.
And the final sum of an essay,
Whether well written
Or rushed through,
Is always a single letter
Out of the thousands strung together
From the gallows
Of bored, cramped typing fingers—
The particular letter
Penned almost like an afterthought
In the margins of an essay—
An A or a C or an F—
Denoting the worth
Of the words dredged
From the lightless depths of language
And acclaiming all their less-than-nothings
Within this one-letter sum
Of an essay.
