The Sum of an Essay

The square root of a hook

Multiplied by transitional information,

Which introduces a thesis.

The sum of a topic sentence

And partial quotes and evidence,

Divided by analysis, then tripled.

The remainder of three body paragraphs,

Divided by minutia,

Equals a conclusion

Then, as the last few lines

Wither into white nothingness,

A profound idea is forced

Into the remaining space:

A bright eureka of meaning

Added to the end of an essay

As if these words were more

Than a mere formula, more

Than inanimate smears of ink

Filling an innocent page

With algebraic marks that mean

Less than nothing

To binary writers

And their robotic readers.

And the final sum of an essay,

Whether well written

Or rushed through,

Is always a single letter

Out of the thousands strung together

From the gallows

Of bored, cramped typing fingers—

The particular letter

Penned almost like an afterthought

In the margins of an essay—

An A or a C or an F—

Denoting the worth

Of the words dredged

From the lightless depths of language

And acclaiming all their less-than-nothings

Within this one-letter sum

Of an essay.