“Class, today we will examine the
Existence of randomness.

One.
The simplicity, the joy, of a pinwheel,
paper or plastic.”

A sophomore in the last row mumbled
To her twin, a perfect match, ginger hair,
Violet-eyed coed
While the triplet albino boys
Behind them
Ogled their bountiful bodies.

“He’s awesome.”
They whisper.

Holding sway from the podium,
He continues.

“Two.
A brass kaleidoscope
Being kaleidoscopic.”

He propounds.

“Three.
Wanderlust spreading worldwide
As if the only cure for loneliness.
And of course
Bubble blowing as an art
If you haven’t lost your teeth.”

The fivesome in the back,
restless for a fast answer
Begin to fidget the more.

“Four.”

The Lecturer proffers,
“The magic of tastes we know
But rarely name: pomegranate, quince,
Nutmeg.”

On and on he echoes a silver.

‘’Five.
Of delicate smells—magnolia,
Outhouse lilacs.

Six.
Or knowing not the origins
Of vinegar.
Trusting that your
Streaked windows will
Glisten anew under its care.
Babylon in origin, of course,
With its figs and dates and beer
Could be the only source.”

A family of mixed-gender quadruplets
Arrive and size up the room.
In unison,
They spout,
“This can’t be all there is to it.”

‘Seven.
Skunk scent.
Bright as the tail light on a
Battered, green Chevy pick-up.”

“It’s not worth the tuition.”
Chimes in a silver-haired octoroon.

The Scholar is undeterred.

“Eight.
Ambergris.
Wonder of wonders.

Nine.
Home remedies alone take up
An encyclopedia-sized trove.
Blisters be gone.
Helium knows how to cause
Balloons to soar.

Put them together
Pile them up
Challenge their scientific rightness
Suspend truth
Vaccinate with why-nots
There you have the
Wonders of the World.”

“But Professor, “
A 13-fingered Clown questions,

“Whose world?”

Charlene James-Duguid
Amissville, Virginia