Blackboard
I brush chalk from my hands.
I’ve finished.
The boy sneezes.
He puts his Nintendo down,
mutters: does that really mean anything?
I say: wipe your nose.
How do I tell a small, scowling child
that this final set of chalk marks,
this glorious, transcendent equation,
unifies the four fundamental forces?
How do I tell him that I have calculated
the true nature of gravity?
I say: yes. It explains everything.
It tells me why you are here,
where you came from, how our world
and all the other worlds began,
and how they will end.
He says: bet it can’t tell me
what I’m having for tea tonight.
I say: beans on toast.
He says: and ice-cream for pudding?
I study the chalk marks.
I say: yes, and ice-cream for pudding.
Pippa Hennessy is a publisher at Five Leaves. She has published poetry in several magazines and anthologies. She was Development Director at Nottingham Writers’ Studio, and is proud to have helped Nottingham achieve UNESCO City of Literature status.