"Math & Magic"
by Christopher Fox Graham
Oct. 13, 2025
math explains everything
the billiard balls of atoms
the push and pull of stars’ gravity.
quarks and bosons
behave so regularly
they are quantum entangled across the universe
even beneath event horizons of black holes
where the math bends back on itself,
time and space invert
the math is consistent
but to reach the singularity to see if we’re wrong
will take an eternity
and we don't have the time
the tick tock of time is binary
future now future now
always forward, never in reverse
one directional in a three-dimensional space
we are math in Base 4
adenine, thymine, guanine and cytosine
dance in infinite chains in every cell
from archaeon to sequoia
bacterium to blue whale
eukaryote to you
all your decisions are T-A-C-G reacting
G-T-A-C conversing in symphonic exaltations
C-G-A-T firing synapses of memory and thought
a trillion conversations in a cell
a trillion cells in a body
C-G-A-T-G-T-A-C-G … to infinity
the equations are complex
the mathematics monumental
but the outcome is predictable
if you know the math
before poetry, I wanted to be an astrophysicist
to study the grand scale of math in the cosmos
calculate if the stars were where we mapped them
bending to the calculations in our dissertations
I wanted the heavens
because the math down here on earth
and every love affair was science
first hello, first kiss, first night
after enough bedpost notches
why bother investing in the story
when you know the last chapter?
when the mathematics were clear
knowing how the relationship would end
science is repeating the same experiment
and getting the same results
but I didn’t account for magic
because I didn’t know it before her
she knows music
she learned the mathematics
could play Chopin and Schubert from memory
stretch her tiny hands
across Rachmaninoff’s eleven keys
admiring the passion and the complexity
with which he composed
she made music into magic
we collided on the sidewalk
halfway between newsroom and crystal shop
where I dissected the world for easier consumption
and she channeled the universe
me, planning every footfall
to seem non-chalant
she, an allegro improvisation
a manic-pixie dream girl
who shattered that archetype
every chance she had
she conjures magics her movements
she can play me like a concerto
dancing her fingers across my skin
beneath the anodyne arithmetic
there's no formula to counter her
no constant to calculate
no equation to balance the scales
mathematic or melodic
eight years on, I’m still out of my league
playing boxed-in chess
all the options predicted and calculated
trying to anticipate her next move
while she’s swirling in aerial silks
above the board
adding new pieces or spinning the table
variables changing as her hair color
we co-authored three Haikus
Contrarian, Capricious and Chaos,
half magic and math
a quotient of imaginary and irrational numbers
a jazz trio
with a damage deposit
impossible to anticipate
every bit their mother
and somehow part of me
“silly mister” she says
and kisses me again
the only answer I can find
math explains everything
the billiard balls of atoms
the push and pull of stars’ gravity.
the geometry of moons and planets
here are no questions in the dark
we know light down to the meter
constant for all observers at all times
here are no questions in the dark
we know light down to the meter
constant for all observers at all times
quarks and bosons
behave so regularly
they are quantum entangled across the universe
even beneath event horizons of black holes
where the math bends back on itself,
time and space invert
the math is consistent
but to reach the singularity to see if we’re wrong
will take an eternity
and we don't have the time
the tick tock of time is binary
future now future now
always forward, never in reverse
one directional in a three-dimensional space
we are math in Base 4
adenine, thymine, guanine and cytosine
dance in infinite chains in every cell
from archaeon to sequoia
bacterium to blue whale
eukaryote to you
all your decisions are T-A-C-G reacting
G-T-A-C conversing in symphonic exaltations
C-G-A-T firing synapses of memory and thought
a trillion conversations in a cell
a trillion cells in a body
C-G-A-T-G-T-A-C-G … to infinity
the equations are complex
the mathematics monumental
but the outcome is predictable
if you know the math
before poetry, I wanted to be an astrophysicist
to study the grand scale of math in the cosmos
calculate if the stars were where we mapped them
bending to the calculations in our dissertations
I wanted the heavens
because the math down here on earth
is so simple:
given the initial variables,
the conclusion was known
history is a repeat in new uniforms
adults equations to anticipate and counter
leaders pushing and pulling people in predictable patterns
every government, a grown child
fighting over toys
offended by meanies and bullies
lashing out when offended
given the initial variables,
the conclusion was known
history is a repeat in new uniforms
adults equations to anticipate and counter
leaders pushing and pulling people in predictable patterns
every government, a grown child
fighting over toys
offended by meanies and bullies
lashing out when offended
and every love affair was science
first hello, first kiss, first night
after enough bedpost notches
why bother investing in the story
when you know the last chapter?
when the mathematics were clear
knowing how the relationship would end
science is repeating the same experiment
and getting the same results
but I didn’t account for magic
because I didn’t know it before her
she knows music
the progression of chords over space and time
the arrangement of instruments
when to play hard tones and softness
but confined to these bodies
even innovation has its limitations
the arrangement of instruments
when to play hard tones and softness
but confined to these bodies
even innovation has its limitations
she learned the mathematics
could play Chopin and Schubert from memory
stretch her tiny hands
across Rachmaninoff’s eleven keys
admiring the passion and the complexity
with which he composed
she made music into magic
we collided on the sidewalk
halfway between newsroom and crystal shop
where I dissected the world for easier consumption
and she channeled the universe
me, planning every footfall
to seem non-chalant
she, an allegro improvisation
a manic-pixie dream girl
who shattered that archetype
every chance she had
she conjures magics her movements
she can play me like a concerto
dancing her fingers across my skin
beneath the anodyne arithmetic
there's no formula to counter her
no constant to calculate
no equation to balance the scales
mathematic or melodic
eight years on, I’m still out of my league
playing boxed-in chess
all the options predicted and calculated
trying to anticipate her next move
while she’s swirling in aerial silks
above the board
adding new pieces or spinning the table
variables changing as her hair color
henna red and electric blue
she leaves me spinning in a coda
repeating the same moment
until she comes in on cue
to her own bear
she leaves me spinning in a coda
repeating the same moment
until she comes in on cue
to her own bear
we co-authored three Haikus
Contrarian, Capricious and Chaos,
half magic and math
a quotient of imaginary and irrational numbers
a jazz trio
with a damage deposit
impossible to anticipate
every bit their mother
and somehow part of me
and she somehow still loves this computation
still trying to solve her quadratics
find her prime number solution
but she has more moves than chess
which not even all the atoms in the universe
can count
but I try
because math should explain everything
find her prime number solution
but she has more moves than chess
which not even all the atoms in the universe
can count
but I try
because math should explain everything
“silly mister” she says
and kisses me again
the only answer I can find
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