A Tetrahedron leads to a Poem

     Minnesota teacher and writer Ben Orlin has done lots and lots to make mathematical ideas popular and accessible.   One of his prominent activities is his website Math with Bad Drawings.  In this posting from 2018, Poem on a Pyramid, Orlin uses the special pyramid called a tetrahedron to structure a poem.  Each of the edges of the tetrahedron is associated with a line of verse and each triangular face is thereby associated with a three-line stanza.  The poem below was constructed by associating a line with each of the six edges -- with a stanza for each of the four triangular faces.

A tetrahedron -- for designing a poem

Below, I offer Orlin's poem; for more details about its construction, visit and explore Orlin's wonderfully informative and stimulating website.

On Math I Struggle to Conceptualize     by Ben Orlin

       Not all structures can be seen—
       even those that can be sensed
       like the hum of some machine.

      Even those that can be sensed,
      symbols bury what they mean:
      doors I knock and knock against.

      Symbols bury what they mean
      even when my brain’s commenced
      like the hum of some machine.

      Even when my brain’s commenced
      not all structures can be seen:
      doors I knock and knock against.

This link leads to earlier postings in this blog that also include work by Ben Orlin.

THANK YOU, Ben Orlin, for your math poetry -- and for lots more!