Meet Leonardo of Pisa. No, he wasn’t in Dan Brown’s Da Vinci Code, but his sequence of numbers was ~ it was the key to one of the first clues.
Leonardo Fibonacci was an immutably brilliant Italian mathematician whose name graces the series of numbers called the Fibonacci Sequence. I think reproducing rabbits may have been involved, but L.F. was no slouch when it came to field research.
In the Fibonacci sequence, each number is the sum of the previous two numbers, starting with 0 and 1. This sequence begins 0, 1, 1, 2, 3, 5, 8, 13, 21. This can continue infinitely. If you’re fascinated by math (which I’m not) and want to know about the habits of rabbits, look here. But if it’s the poetry experience you’re after, you’re ready to get started.
In a Fibonacci poem, the number of syllables in each line tracks the numbers in the Fibonacci sequence. So, the first line of the poem has 1 syllable (or 0 for a beat of silence, if you’re a purist!), and then is followed by lines of 1, 2, 3, 5, and 8 syllables and onward as far as the poet wants to go. Writing one is a little like solving puzzle ~
0+1 = 1
1+1 = 2
1+2 = 3
2+3 = 5
3+5 = 8
5+8 = 13
8+13 = 21
After our annual nod to the WWWW Sequence, Ronnie shared her Fib. We were hooked!
Thought
Words
Verse
Page by page
Poets scribble on
Their addictions never sated
Matters not that few but other poets read their words
Press on, you noticers of ugliness and pain, of beauty in fields of daffodils.
So, there you have it ~ Ronnie told a Fib. And now, we want to do some Fibbing, too. Join us and submit your Fibs in the comment section by June 7. Write as many as you like. On any topic. We’ll read them and award a primo prize for the best Fib. Readers and writers alike, weigh in on your favorites.
I cannot tell a lie ~ I think there are only good fibs and great fibs, so start fibbing!
Toni
5/31/12
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