Rosemarie's Theorem; Verses and Reverses by Elliot Wilner

Rosemarie’s Theorem

Hi, my name is Rosemarie, who are you?

We replied hi to the amiable woman

Who then moved her beach chair closer to ours.

Her girl and our two had joined forces and were

Building a sandcastle close to the water’s edge.

We chatted for a while and then Rosemarie

Decided to confide. Would you, she asked,

Like to hear my explanation of life?

Sure, I responded so she continued: I call it

Rosemarie’s Theorem. Can you picture a snowball

At the top of a mountain starting to roll down and

As it rolls and rolls it gets bigger and bigger and

As it gets bigger and bigger it rolls faster and faster?

Okay, I said, I kinda get the picture.

Well, said Rosemarie, that’s life.

At the end it’s just a big snowball that’s all.

But I wanted to hear more so I asked:

What happens to the snowball after it stops rolling

And comes to rest at the base of the mountain?

Nothing really she answered. It just sits there

While it very very slowly melts away.

But Rosemarie, I argued, a theorem needs proof,

And how do you propose to prove your theorem?

Well you will be the proof, she answered.

Just then we heard the girls’ shrieks and saw their

Tear-streaked faces as the incoming tide flooded

The moat around their castle and collapsed the walls

They had built with much effort and earnest artistry.

Look, I said to Rosemarie, maybe it’s not the rule

That life’s a rapidly rolling slowly melting snowball;

Sometimes it’s a flood and a quickly collapsing castle.

I’d say your theorem is admirable but a little facile,

Wouldn’t you agree Rosemarie?

VERSES and REVERSES

I lent my friend fifty dollars

He asked for more

So I relented.

I ate veal for dinner

And wanted seconds

So I revealed.

My mom served

The veal once

And then reserved.

I dug up some peat

And it wasn’t enough

So I repeated.

I shopped at the store

But needed to return

So I restored.

I brought up an issue

Didn’t get a response

So I reissued.

I felt full of morse

But it wasn’t satisfying

So I felt remorse.

Our club lost one member

But added another

So we remembered.

That’s all folks

No more jokes.