Portraits of a mathematician

Ideas for this posting began with my post on 30 October 2011 in which I selected 7 favorite lines of poetry as a sort of self-portrait.  That posting led to an exchange with blogger Peter Cameron -- which prompted me to write these abecedarian portraits of a mathematician.

   I know a mathematician . . .     by JoAnne Growney  

   always busy
   counting, doubting
   every figured guess,
   haply idling,
   juggling, knowing
   logic, measure, n-dimensions,
   originating
   playful quests,
   resolutely seeking theorems,
   unknowns vanish :
   wrong xs, ys -- zapped. 

After this next poem are links to still more verse portraits of mathematicians.

          Mathematician        by JoAnne Growney

          naming

          optimizing
          permuting
          quartering

          reflects

          solving
          topologizing

          unifies
          verifies
          wonders

          x-trapolating
          yielding
          zeroing
          angling
          branching

          commutes
          differentiates
          equates
          factors
          groups

          halving
          intersecting
          juxtaposing
          knotting

          longing . . . .

Links to earlier postings of poems about mathematicians.  In 2011: July 5 Mathematicians at work,   July 2 Mathematicians divide,  Jan 30 Sonnet for a geometry teacher, Jan 28 Poems starring mathematicians - 8.  In 2010, Dec 8 Poems starring mathematicians -- 7, July 20 In the same family -- a poet and a mathematician, May 14 Poems starring Mathematicians -- 6 (Mandelbrot), May 4 Poems starring Mathematicians -- 5, April 28 Poems starring mathematicians -- 4, April 26 Poems starring mathematicians -- 3, April 15 Poems starring mathematicians - 2, April 14 Poems starring mathematicians - 1, March 23 Poetry of Logical Ideas .