Variance analysis

Purpose – This poem aims to use the language of accounting and auditing to examine how we deal with the loss of a loved one. It also aims to juxtapose the vocabulary of a budgeting seminar with the world outside, and the way the “you” of the poem deals with his grief on the first anniversary of his father's death.
Design/methodology/approach – This is a free verse poem that uses longish lines of long, heavily punctuated sentences to reflect the slow passage of time in a budgeting seminar, and the waste of the first day of spring, particularly when we consider mortality. The interior description and language counterbalances the activity and brightness of the world outside. The poem deliberately references Naming of Parts by Henry Reed, on the futility of army exercises on a beautiful spring day. It is designed to end with hopefulness.
Findings – The poem uses a newly encountered vocabulary to connect frustration at being cooped up and a partner's grieving. Auditing terminology combines with concrete images of the spring world to convey the movement, growth and vitality outside the room.
Research limitations/implications – It is possible to mould the language of accountancy into a poem about spring and about grief.
Originality/value – The poem uses accounting jargon, which seems at first disconnected with the subject matter, to emphasise and underscore the timeless poetic theme of mortality.