“I am walking at a speed of 6 kilometres an hour. 

You start after ten minutes and walk 

At a speed of 8 km, How long will it take

For you to overtake me?” Those sums 

Were your favourites. Along with the tank 

That rarely got filled and sometimes 

Overflowed. How I hated that morning ritual

Waiting for you to give me sums. 

Maths was everything, you said. 

I dared not argue, quietly adding numbers 

Till I gave it up. I tried to pass on

The love for numbers but failed

Not everything in life adds up

Not every x has a solution, sometimes integers 

Too need be expressed in decimals. 

I still tried. To live life by your rules

To play the game in hexagonal bubbles

To live within concentric circles,

But nothing adds up. If there is one thing

I have learnt, it’s that there are no whole numbers

In Life. Like that tank that never gets filled, 

There is a tap to bleed it dry. And how much?

How much further must I walk? 

Till I finally catch up with you?