Poem a day for 20 April 2015: one gold fib

Nautilus Illuminata. Photo by Robert Rath from Robert's website.

Today's poem is based on the Fibonacci Sequence. This mathematically described structure often occurs in nature, for example in sunflowers, pine cones and Nautilus shells.

In this mathematical sequence every number is the sum of the two preceding it. So, starting at 1, the sequence is 1+1=2; then in turn 1+2=3; then 2+3=5; then 3+5=8 and so on.

I applied the sequence to the number of syllables in each line, so the first two lines have one-syllable words, the third line has two syllables, etc. I wrote one of these before; for NaPoWriMo in 2013. You can read it here.

I increased the challenge for today's effort: I went as far as the 21-syllable line before turning the poem around. I also included the word 'Fibonacci' in the poem.


one gold fib

I've
been
thinking
about how
to execute a
Fibonacci series poem;
how the key idea might hinge around the thirteen-
syllable line, or even the twenty-one syllable line, like this, before it turns
in golden ratio'd symmetry, spiralling to
last lines in manic urgency,
halting, leaving me
to wonder:
what was
my
point?

Posted by Jennifer Liston