A Poetic Form Rooted in Math -- No Fibbing!

There's no getting away from mathematics. It springs up everywhere even in the act of writing poetry.

Fibonacci is the name of a mathematical sequence in which each number is the sum of the previous two numbers. The sequence begins with 0, 1, 1, 2, 3, 5, 8, 13, 21, 34, 55, 89, 144, 233, 377, 610 and continues on.

Background information on the sequence’s namesake

Leonardo Fibonacci (c. 1170 – c. 1250) was an Italian mathematician who was known by numerous names including Leonardo of Pisa, Leonardo Pisano, and Leonardo Bonacci. The sequence is named for him though he is not the one who discovered it. Fibonacci introduced the sequence to Western European mathematics in his 1202 book, Liber Abacis, but the sequence had been previously described in Indian mathematics.

Fibonacci Poems

A fibonacci poem consists of 6 lines made up of a total of 20 syllables. Here is the breakdown:

Line 1 - one syllable

Line 2 - one syllable

Line 3 - two syllables

Line 4 - three syllables

Line 5 - five syllables

Line 6 - eight syllables

Here is the sequence at work in the poem:

# of syllables in lines 1 + 2 = # of syllables in line 3

# of syllables in lines 2 + 3 = # of syllables in line 4

# of syllables in lines 3 + 4 = # of syllables in line 5

# of syllables in lines 4 + 5 = # of syllables in line 6

Here are three quick Fibonacci poems about colours which I recently wrote when I flexed my fibbing muscles for the first time:

BLUE

--------

Sky,

teal,

azure,

cornflower,

indigo, aqua,

cobalt, turquoise, cerulean.

RED

------

Brick,

blood,

cherry,

cardinal,

ruby, sangria,

candy apple, vermillion.

YELLOW

----------

Gold,

maize,

saffron,

goldenrod,

icterine, jonquil,

amber, mustard, sunglow.

So here's to fibbing (the good kind)!

QUOTE OF THE DAY

"Everyday take time to start to learn a little poem by heart."

-- Mary Ann Hoberman, U.S. children's poet laureate (2008-2010)