Reunion
How many MIT graduates
does it take to divvy up
a lunch check
not this lucky 7
all of us well into the dotage
of our eighth decade
it doesn’t help that
the waiter forgets
one of the orders
so our most vocal member
eats only the leftovers
from the other 6
what is his fair share
and how should service
figure in the tip
to complicate
the math further
2 choose to split the tab
on separate credit cards
then collect cash from the rest
but our faithful waiter
manages to run
one card twice
and ignore the other
the number of variables
keeps growing
some cash payers
put in more than their share
and want change
while others offer extra
in case there’s a short fall—
once upon a time
each and every one of us
met such mathematical quandaries
and prevailed
but 50 years on
all talk at once
while 20 dollar bills fly around the table
grabbed hand from hand
counted and re-counted
other diners stare in disbelief
at these brazen old men
red faced and out of control
it would take only one of them
to change a light bulb
but to sort this puzzle out
7 is either way too many
Or not nearly enough