Calculus Poem by Gert Strydom

Zero divided by one is zero,
but it bothered me
from my first conception
of mathematics
that one cannot
be divided by zero
and that it is incalculable.

When I found Calculus
new horizons
opened for me
and I saw mathematics
in another light
and I could find
how one approaches zero
and suddenly
Algebra became clearer.

At first the Calculus dragon
tried to incinerate me
and lengths, volumes and areas
looked like madness to me,
but later I understood the functions
and derivatives
and exponents
and logarithmic functions
became clear to me.

I understood that real numbers
have no greatest
or smallest number
and that there’s always
a larger number
that goes on infinitely.

Limits, gradients and curves,
maximum and minimum values
of functions
and rates of change
and integration and differentiation
made that I
could write my own formulas
and could solve problems
that where unsolvable before
and the Calculus dragon
protected me
and became my pet.