Whittled Words – Fib Poem
Welcome to the weekly series, Whittled Words. A series highlighting the innumerable types and styles of poetry to challenge any creative wordsmith. This week’s selection:
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FIB (FIBONACCI) POEM
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Fibonacci poetry was founded by Gregory K. Pincus as a 6-line poem that follows the Fibonacci sequence for syllable count per line.
For the 6-line poem that means:
1 syllable for first line
1 syllable for second line
2 syllables for third
3 syllables for fourth
5 syllables for fifth
8 syllables for sixth
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An example from the originator of the form:
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The Fib
By Greg Pincus
One
Small,
Precise,
Poetic,
Spiraling mixture:
Math plus poetry yields the Fib.
~~~
There are variations where the Fibonacci expands even further with each line, but to understand how to accomplish this, you need to understand the Fibonacci math sequence of starting with 0 and 1 and then adding the last two numbers together to add to infinity.
0+1=1
1+1=2
1+2=3
2+3=5
3+5=8
5+8=13
8+13=21
13+21=34
and so on and so forth…
Anyway, those lines can easily get more and more unwieldy the more you let them expand.
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Examples of Fib Poetry:
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IN THE VOID
By Joseph Farley
sand
in
a pail,
drizzled out
onto a white beach
all those small grains lost in the crowd.
man
lost
alone
in city’s
loud people rush crush
faces dissolve into blank smears.
moons,
stars,
planets,
universe,
lost in light and dark,
the vast emptiness of space-time.
~~~
LANDSCAPE WITH EMPTY EYES
By Nathalie Boisard-Buedin
All
Here
Is dead
White so white
Dazzled by ravens
Lost in the scrawny arms of trees
Heavy with snow and mistletoe
Pregnant with cold age
Made colder
Yet by
Their
Cries
A symphony for cracking eaves.
Fog
Wave
Crows chime
Chattering
Smothered by midday
Eyes long eaten away by frost
By a voracious blaze at last
Fever trapped in snow
Blood berries
Locked in
Ice
Peace
~~~
NIGHTMARES
By Tim Hawkins
Night-
mares
clatter
riderless
along unmarked trails
in the trembling, ancestor dark.
~~~
FIND REST
(In various forms)
By Brad Osborne
Sleep
Hush
Worries
An autumn
Fall of rusted leaves
And nary a care to be seen
~~~
Sleep
Hush
Worries
An autumn
Fall of rusted leaves
And nary a care to be seen
There upon the wings of your wispy, wishful dreams
Let the colors dance and the fairies prance in a magical light that fills the short night
~~~
Sleep
Hush
Worries
An autumn
Fall of rusted leaves
And nary a care to be seen
In my arms be still
Quiet
My
Love
~~~
I hope you have enjoyed this entry to the series, Whittled Words. I look forward to your comments, and if you dare, maybe share your own Fib poem. Thanks for reading!
I’ve always been fascinated by the Fibonacci sequence, and it works well here in poetry –
It is certainly a creative application of the sequence, but hard to run with for very long. Thanks for all your support, Beth! You are greatly appreciated!
That did not seem like an easy task for writing poetry! Kudos for your success doing so!
I guess you could say it is where math meets metaphor…😁
Awesome. I want to do this , Brad. Thank you 😊
This would be perfect for you Yasmin!
how can you not love a poem based on the Fibonacci sequence – well done, Brad.
Next request, a poem built on factorials 🙂
Okay, first, what is a factorial?
Factorial!
Less or equal
Tidy sum
Down to
One
Used in the pursuit of combinatorics, mathematical analysis, and algebra.
3 factorial is expressed as 3! and means to multiply that number by every number smaller than it, down to 1; so 3! = 6
5! = 120 (5 x 4 x 3 x 2 x 1)
you could write a 3! poem that has six syllables, then 2, then 1
a 4! poem would have 24 syllables, then 6, then 2, then 1
a brand new poem scheme…
Wow, this is interesting and amazing.
Thank you Jomz!
Fantastic, as always. A girl should be so lucky to fall quiet in your arms.
You are such a romantic! Thank you for your kind words, Kristian!
Not only do I like the poems, but this format is also pleasing to the eye.
I had overlooked that Pete, but you are right! They do make for a beautiful visual presentation. Thanks for all your support!
Another great learning experience and the treat of reading some beautiful poetry. Yours was brilliant by the way, great writing my friend. All the best,
F.
Thank you Francisco!
My pleasure!