Mathemagic: A poem by Anju Kishore

Math was a nightmare I lived through everyday,
Those forty minutes of class from which I wished to run away.

My teacher was stern, I had never seen her smile.
I feared the look she would give us when sums didn't go right.

One day my father found me crying over a test I had failed. 
He put me on his lap and said math was a piece of cake. 

And then began an adventure we go on every day.
He turns everything to math-flowers, stones, and grapes.

An hour every evening is Mathemerry Time,
To learn from the birds perching on the telephone line.

Substractions were fun when some birds flew away.
I would add all of them when others took their place.

The friendly grocer uncle would wait with amused patience
While I exercised my mind with coins, notes, and prices.

Now, dad walks me to our farm to gather some tomatoes,
Or peas or carrots, even flowers as the season goes.

I would then apportion them, equally among friends.
Math was never so meaningful and really so much fun.

I passed with flying numbers; math was my newest friend.
The old foes and fears were finally put to an end.

Math is a toy in my new class teacher's hands.
Such games we play, boredom does not get a chance.

Math is now a dream, I live through every day.
For those forty minutes of class, I would come running from anywhere.