dearth to difference

what more can a child do but malinger?
a prolific tongue-twister; a young deceiver
her looks plain yet eyes morose —
did she avow from the womb
to practice fabrication
a rod-seeker?

everyday is like tortures
when to school she skips
lessons fast
teachers hold
teachers quarrel
with the mouth of the nine year old

detention slips
principal trips
oh, what a shame
they say her IQ unreliable

to sixteen she approaches
full blossomed woman she acts
blossom but in petty tricks
yet in class
quiet she sits
with lips as the envelope wax
no knife can pierce

a signature austere
a practical nobody
populars tease
and even grade-backers tease
for she sits in dull concentration

what avarice does she have?
in playing hooky and aloof
talkatively quiet
quietly attuned?

mrs. comes
she a teacher new
does mould merits
“Who is that girl who sits by herself?”
“Oh she is but the class brat!” a teacher does not censure
“Oh, truly, she seems like a lively child.” new mrs. says
“Lively only in goblin mirth and impish play!”
“Why her eyes seem to hold sincere.”
“An act! An act! All but stage play!”
“Oh what deluge runs beneath?” mrs. wonders
Is it the ‘axiom’? That she be misfit?
“You cannot coerce the girl...” old teacher speaks, “There will be no talk.”
“Then I will not force,” mrs. smiles, “But talk there will be.”

So, mrs. goes to the girl
threadbare and sullen
asks of her
what interests?

girl quiet
girl sweet
answers not
fear of the tease

“Why, do you read?”
girl looks, “I do, I love.”
“Then do you play with math?”
“Numbers can conquer some problems. They are good bedfellows.”
“Oh tell me!”
girl surprised, “why the linear algebra; create theories to apply.”
“And?” mrs. is interested
“To use a formula to see a condition is understandable.”
“Continue.” mrs. asks
“Euclidean distance of many d(u,v)=||u-v||=√(u₁-v₁)²+(u₂-v₂)²+(u_ⁿ-v_ⁿ)²”
“Yes?” mrs. asks
“Is a condition to a problem and can be computable.”

mrs. talks to her
mrs. starts to like her
there is talk
mrs. tells, “I like you.”

for a moment she breathes
eyes swell
tears despise
a frailty?
a frivolity?
no
she confesses that all she wants is to read
she confesses that all she wants is to learn
yet write her off as she does not
act like a ‘normal’ girl
that is the gist of it
plainly done yet so wrong

mrs. say
“I trust you.”
she smiles

so now she can see that Euclidean distances
take form and shape
with code and letters
arranged as vowels and consonants

God Almighty gives when time is ripe
and ripe is the fruit
that grows and gives
nectar rich

to both tongue and soul...

_______________________________________________________________

I used all the words listed. I got inspired by the very definition of the word 'malinger' in pocket oxford dictionary

malinger v. pretend to be ill, esp. to escape work.  malingerer n. [French malingre sickly]

The equation is from this link:

http://tutorial.math.lamar.edu/Classes/LinAlg/EuclideanSpace.aspx

for Hawk's Vocabulary Extravaganza October 2011

ID: 1706859   (Rated: E) Hawk's Vocabulary Extravaganza  A test of skills on the use of vocabulary. (2 time Editor pick) (Quill honorable mention) by BScholl