Problem 2d: Analysis on leaving

Allison Lindquist

The girl’s visceral response is to check every chalkboard scribble.
Carry the 1, hastily erase memories (see section 3 for the positive & negative answer).

The girl (a sucker for resolution) loves multiple choice –
not even a happy ending, but one where 
each numeral’s parentheses are enclosed (like any good aside* should be).

Calculation:

  1. She reacts with fear about the liturgy of the divine ( y = mx + b )

  2. Plus the loss of comfort in relation to time ( f = mass x acceleration )
    *remember,


     x = -b (boldness) ∓ √ (hunger²+ desire)
                --------------------------------------------------------------------
                                        2(a)ching

  3. Factor in three other variables & the girl no longer trusts her own work.

In Summary:
A is to B as C is to D, E… Finally leaving the Ground she grew herself in.


The Science

This poem attempts to measure the immeasurable void that comes from a big life change. It is inspired by the format of word problems in science textbooks and is an attempt to place an amalgam of feelings about leaving/change/the foreign/discomfort into such a word problem.

The Poet

Allison Lindquist grew up outside of Boulder, Colorado. A Neuroscientist by trade, she worked in a research lab for three years before starting her PhD. With a background in painting, poetry became the brush of choice when met with a teacher who believed in the power of words. In her first book of poems, ‘A Search For Human Influences On The Thermal Structure of the Atmosphere’, Allison’s work explores the complementary nature of science and art.

Next poem: Space by Jim Welsh