POUGHKEEPSIE, NEW YORK, 1944
In the all-women’s college, girls who were quiet
among boys in high school now wave their hands
to ask questions, interrupt, argue about ideas.
Professor Maud Makemson teaches the secrets
of differential equations, which break long problems,
and integral equations, which put the pieces back together.
Calculus mirrors the swift changes of stars.
Vera uses chalk on black paper to draw the orbital
patterns of asteroids, some discovered by her professor.
Science unfolds new stories, while math helps
turn the pages, touches the past, reaches
for the future, makes room for uncertainty.