02-05-2014, 07:41 AM
I agree that the abacus is crucial to the poem's appeal (personally, I find it quite brilliant, and ["they are"] is certainly not needed, it is clear enough.) As far as the different ways of punctuating it, I am mostly ambivalent. I like the poem both ways. I thought the enjambment worked fine and had its own appeal, yet this other, simpler sentence structure may be easier to parse.

