By the Sudanese stools is a satellite TV shop
Offering a kilo of gold, a solid gold bar
To anyone who enters their game, signs up, the usual show.
My neighbour’s son is mad for it. He wants a gold bar more than anything.
He is eight and I have been asked to help him with his maths.
I see this as a perfect teaching opportunity.
“One ounce is worth a thousand dollars,”
He smiles
“There are twelve troy ounces in a pound,”
He nods
“And 2.2 in a kilo- so how much is each bar worth?”
I lost him long ago. At last, face pained, he protests:
"I don’t even know what an ounce is."