The "Fib" is a poetry form in which the numbers of syllables per line follow the pattern of the Fibonacci numbers. (See also April 19 and April 29 postings.) The sequence of Fibonacci numbers starts with 0 and 1 and then each successive Fibonacci number is the sum of the two preceding. Thus, the non-zero members of the sequence are:
1, 1, 2, 3, 5, 8, 13, 21, 34, 55, 89, 144, . . .
Poet Athena Kildegaard's collection Red Momentum (Red Dragonfly Press, 2006 ) consists entirely of Fibonacci poems. The following samples from Kildegaard's collection illustrate the way that increasing line lengths can build to dramatic effect. From a simple start, complexity grows.
Fibonacci Poems by Athena Kildegaard
Kiss
me
again
tongue and lips
like Fibonacci's
sequence, each movement a spiral,
enfold, unfold, a working through and against, again.
So
seek
beauty—
all else is
false hope or blind faith.
What can be seen or heard or known
by pressing hard against this world—that is beautiful.
Ear
hear
the rare
momentum
time out of time, no
shadow only light whipping
itself into frenzies of red-tailed hawk and snow goose.
And
all
waters
rise, subside--
study the loon, how
she leans into waves, then pulls back
before she enters the water. From a distance, calm. (a response to Katrina)
This final Fibonacci poem from Kildegaard was written after Red Momentum:
A-
stir
behind
the curtain,
memorized stiff but
not yet brought to life, a stirring
in the house, moment of fear, as when the world first breathed.
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