Sonnet to Mathematics

Shall I compare thee to a cloudy sky?

Thou art more obscure, and much more dry!

Rough winds do shake the darling buds of May,

But shake me all you wish, I will not say

That maths comes easily to my aching brain ---

My equation is that calculus equals pain!

Oft times the problem posed too hard doth seem

And even if perchance there is a gleam

Of understanding that upon me shines,

(Like ``every e to the minus x declines'')

Next minute it is gone and I am lost

--- And none shall ever know just what it cost

To hazard all upon the guess I've made!

BUT: thy eternal fascination cannot fade ---

So long as men can breathe or eyes can see

So long lives Maths --- and Maths enthrallest me!