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Math Problem with a River
By Hua Xi
January 15, 2024
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This poem is based on the classic river crossing math problem: A farmer with a wolf, a goat and a cabbage must cross a river by goat. The boat can carry only the farmer and a single item. If left unattended together, the wolf would eat the goat, or the goat would eat the cabbage. How can they cross the river without anything being eaten?
![Headshot of Hua Xi](https://www.theseventhwave.org/wp-content/uploads/hxi-768x768.jpg?x50507)
Hua Xi (she/they) is a poet and artist. They are currently a Stegner Fellow in Poetry at Stanford. Their poems have appeared in The Nation, The New Republic, The Atlantic, and elsewhere.
Edited by Patrycja Humienik.
The featured image is a photograph by W.T. Joshua.
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