When a math term appears in a poem, will its usage make sense to a mathematician? Some mathematical folks are critical of poetic use of math words because precision may be lost to "poetic license." Others feel a pleasing tension between the mathness of a term and the stretched or layered meanings suggested by the poem. With these thoughts in mind, consider these two mathematically-titled poems "Mobius Strip" and "Parabola" by Robert Desnos (France, 1900-1945), translated by Amy Levin and selected from "A sampling of French surrealist poetry."
Mobius Strip by Robert Desnos (trans. Amy Levin)
The track I'm running on
Won't be the same when I turn back
It's useless to follow it straight
I'll return to another place
I circle around but the sky changes
Yesterday I was a child
I'm a man now
The world's a strange thing
And the rose among the roses
Doesn't resemble another rose.
Parabola (2) by Robert Desnos (trans. Amy Levin)
Parabola my nurse...
A parabola was bored in its cage
A parabola wanted to land on the branch
The branch is too low
The sun too high
I watch the flight of birds
They fall then climb again
The branch is too low
The sun too high
These are some strange birds
Their nest is somewhere
Quite far from the earth
The branch is too low
The sun too high
Subscribe to:
Post Comments (Atom)
Posts
No comments:
Post a Comment