From Graffiti Calculus “The Phenomenology of the Name,” 6. [The height of a child]

The height of a child as he grows over time is a continuous function.
            It was I, the notcher and the dater
on the doorframe through which you came and went; I, the datakeeper,
            demonstrator (see how tall?)
for whom the top notch would become a reach, a stretch; I through
            whom you came, then went,
who built my back and biceps lifting you, tickled  I’m coming to get you!
            I developed a taste for a burden,
for your arms ever-reaching. Now my arms looped your waist,
            your chin on my head.
I was reduced to beck and call at the door. The graph of a continuous
            function can be drawn
without lifting the chalk from the board. Did you think that you
            and I were through?

Copyright © 2026 by Mary-Sherman Willis. Used with permission of the author.