If you like crossword and others types of word puzzles, then it's quite likely that you will enjoy writing Fibonacci poems, as they require similar skills, as well as poetic ability.
The Fibonacci series occurs throughout nature, and is present in a wide variety of music, art, architecture, and of course, poetry. The series is composed of a specific sequence of numbers which are the result of adding two numbers together:
1+1=2, 2+1=3, 3+2= 5, 5+3=8, 8+5=13 or
1,1,3,5,8,13, and so forth. In nature, the most spectacular example of this is the sunflower, where clockwise and anti-clockwise spirals pack the seeds tight using adjacent Fibonacci numbers: 34 / 55 = 0.618, or inversely 55 /34 = 1.618, where any two adjacent numbers give the golden mean.
It’s intriguing that this pattern can be found in many traditional poetic forms. For example, there are two lines in couplets, three lines in haiku, and five lines in a cinquain, etc. The Fibonacci Series also lends itself well to the limerick form, using the adjacent numbers of 5 and 8. A haiku or senyru can also be worked in fibonacci numbers. (e.g., 1,2,3,5,3,2,1, with a total syllable count of 17).
Smalljewelsscintillatein my thoughts, alight on the pageas newKuFibonacci poems tend toward simplicity; like a Romanesco cauliflower, the beauty of each perfect part fits snugly into the whole. When composing a Fibonacci poem, we draw phrases in order to fit the form. A one-syllable start or finish must command attention, and be complemented by the 2 and 3 syllable count. Such limits demand careful word choices, as there is no room for “waffle” here.
Poet's Third Eye
Star
dust
spirit
heart aflame
thunder being moved
by poetry in purest form
a soundtrack of the soul for poet and for her reader
reflects history and spotlights
road to destiny
mystic seer
poet’s
third
eye.
Just as with other poetic forms, each choice of word influences the whole poem. The longer syllable lines should convey an image or thought that flows effortlessly and naturally into the next one. I love the challenge of this form; it's a bit like completing a puzzle.
Taste the beans
Hot
strong
au lait,
et sucre ?
Screamed cappucino?
Irish - mainline a hot-cool dream?
Drown in flavour-rich syrup, lace with oodles of thick cream?
No additives I like it simple, rich roasted beans, flavour to savour - cafe noir.
You may discover many more examples of Fibonacci numbers in poetry. When a poem uses these numbers in a sequence, with a usual syllable count of 1-13 or 1-21, it is known as a Fibonacci poem. Like cinquains, fibonacci can be mirrored. The result? A pleasing diamond-shaped poem. If you quilt and embroider, the diamond shape of a Mirror Fibonacci poem would be ideal !
Iced Sunset.
(or Bloody Cold Sky.)
True
blue
skyline.
Giant sun
throbs through blue-ice haze
glare of cold mirror, blue heat fades
Icy pink shards cut sky – bleed into celestial sphere
arteries feed into capillaries, spreading gore
across the bloody evening sky
deeper and darker
quietly night
by stealth
cloaks
light.
They can also form a butterfly shape if started with the longest line and joined at one syllable lines.
Earth Wizard
Life sparks out from his fingertips in fibonacci numbers as tender leaves spiral
around each branch, stem and vine. Feet planted in decay
where exotic black truffles grow.
Shy pigs root and sniff
them out from
between
his
toes.
He warms
earth’s life blood
bright red from ice pale
His home lies deep in virgin wood.
where high above, the trees' bare arms in supplication mingle
Earth wizard feels heartbeats, low and deep, senses earth’s joy as she awakes from winter’s sleep.
I believe that poets should push the cultural boundaries and not be content just to ape popular trends. Recently, I have been experimenting with fractal poems using random Fibonacci numbers, which I then refer to as Random Fractal Fibonacci poems. This process includes shift, diversion, leaps, and interruption, exploring the borders between order and chaos. There are some fantastic fractal art galleries on the web, and I find that fractal art is an inspirational springboard for this form as it facilitates the imagination to take those leaps found deep in the subconscious.
I think of these poems as fractal in form as well as content. Here is an example with 21 lines, where each line is a random Fibonacci number:
Molten thoughtsThought waves strain and stretch to reach the margins where complexity melts in chaos. Here a zillion threads turn matt black and dip into infinity. In the molten - see a dance of infinite variety to a fractal song of individuality. See the flux and the order in the galaxy. Yin and yang will coalesce in grey matter's density and yet - I like simple things green fields that glisten with hoar frost poetry dappled sunlight filtered through leaves challenge,love.(This form is one of many based upon numeric patterns. Others include tetractys (1 2 3 4 10), nonce (9 8 7 6 5 4 3 2) and prime ( 1 2 3 5 7 11 13). All may be reversed or doubled. If you have one you think we might be interested in, mail the editor.
Gael Bage came late to poetry after a career in health services management while rearing three children. Now, her creative side is blossoming, and she writes poetry every day. This has proven to be a steep learning curve—but she loves it! Encouraged by winning an honorable mention with her first-ever entry to the Mainichi haiku contest, she plans to enter additional contests this year. She also won a weekend calligraphy course at Brighton University with a poem entry, and has had several poems published in Amaze and other magazines, including one editor who saw her poems on Sam Hamil’s site and asked to use them in a Spanish magazine. She believes this is all good fun for a relative newcomer. One of her favorite forms is the Fibonacci, and although self-taught, she has enjoyed learning about, and striving to perfect, this form.
