Skip to main content

Mathematical Moments In Poetry

 I have figured things out this week and find myself focusing on matters mathematical. I could have gone with a Fibonacci Poem again, but I decided to look elsewhere within the fascinating world of mathematics to find my connection. 

Here are three little poems owing their existence to various mathematical inspirations. They were quietly nestling in my poetry vault, but I found them when it counted.  Go figure...









Figure It Out

One stands by itself
Two makes a couple
Three gives us a crowd
Four sends us to the corners
Five gives us golden rings
Six can be hit out of the park
Seven is heavenly
Eight comes with easy pieces
Nine gives a cat lives
Ten likes green bottles
I figure that’s enough.

Alan j Wright

 


Zero

No beginning or end
No tail to descend
Like a hole in Swiss Cheese
With no corners
No one’s lucky number it must be said
You unfortunately have amounted to nothing
But I like the way you stand
Between positive
And negative
So well rounded
Not quite a hero.
Simply a zero.

Alan j Wright


Comparing Me to Things I See

I am > an ant
But < a dinosaur
I am > a saucepan
But < a skyscraper
I am > a kookaburra
But < a whale
I am > a mouse
But < a cow
 
It is plain to see
That I am just right for me.

Alan j Wright


It's Poetry Friday yet again and this time our  genial host is Marcie Flinchum Atkins who delivers a post with loads of news and ideas.

Labels:

Comments

  1. Tabatha25 July 2025 at 10:39

    These are clever and fun, Alan! I feel like kids would enjoy writing a "Comparing Me to Things I See" poem and find the ending comforting.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Alan j Wright26 July 2025 at 10:47

      Thank you kindly, Tabatha. If kids liked them, then I would be most pleased.

      Delete
  2. Linda Mitchell25 July 2025 at 21:11

    That last line, "simply a zero" is such a satisfying way to leave that poem. Love it! I think I might have to use that > < form with students. It's so fun! And, it could really work with some of my students who are learning English. Thanks!

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Alan j Wright26 July 2025 at 10:50

      Glad to have assisted your thoughts and plans, Linda. Thanks for the feedback. Good luck with your projects...

      Delete
  3. TraceyKJ25 July 2025 at 23:35

    Alan, “Figure It Out “is so clever – so many fun references! I love the idea that zero is no one’s lucky number – kind of makes me feel sorry for it. : ) I particularly like the title and format of your third poem. A hat trick of wonderful poems for us!

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Alan j Wright26 July 2025 at 10:52

      Glad you enjoyed the allusions to mathematical concepts and words, Tracey. Let's wrap our arms around zero. Thank you for your generous response.

      Delete
  4. Anonymous26 July 2025 at 00:56

    This is Janice. I love funny clever poems so I love these, especially Zero. I hope your Australian winter is cold enough but not too cold. In between like Zero.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Alan j Wright26 July 2025 at 10:55

      Thank you for your response, Janice. Glad you enjoyed them. Our winter has been cold and dreary, with the occasional windless day of frail sun. Fortunately we have avoided zero, but only just on some mornings.

      Delete
  5. Margaret Simon26 July 2025 at 02:23

    These poems are wonderful, math-filled, and clever. I’d love to use them as model poems for students. Is that OK?

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Alan j Wright26 July 2025 at 10:57

      Thank you, Margaret. I'd be very pleased if you wished to use these poems. I would expect them to behave themselves in the company of curious young learners. Have fun.

      Delete
  6. Tricia26 July 2025 at 09:22

    I love math poems and these are a delight!

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Alan j Wright26 July 2025 at 10:59

      So glad you enjoyed my poems, Tricia. It is always a joy for me to connect poetry across other learning areas.

      Delete
  7. Mary Lee26 July 2025 at 21:03

    Ha ha -- you found them just "when it counted." They're all very fun, but I'm particularly fond of your ode to zero. There's a lot to be said for those who
    "stand
    Between positive
    And negative"

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Alan j Wright26 July 2025 at 22:56

      The Zero Poem seems to be garnering support. Glad you enjoyed my number fun and games, Mary Lee.

      Delete
  8. Patricia Franz27 July 2025 at 08:52

    Always fun to see/read your creativity, Alan.

    ReplyDelete

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

Poetry Inspired by Images and Objects

There are many ways pictures and photographs can be conscripted to support the writing of poetry. Allow me to share a few ideas with you: Old photographs are a great source of inspiration. Cynthia Rylant explored this idea with great success in her book 'Something Permanent' where she employed the Depression era photographs of Walker Evans to add a new voice to the starkness to the lives of people experienced under extreme circumstances. I have used this strategy to spark many individual poems. In ' I Bet There's No Broccoli On The Moon,' I used a photo I had taken in 2004 while living in New York to inspire a poem. The poem was based on a story related by a friend who grew up in New York.  I regularly combined poetry and pictures in my writer's notebook, drawing on inspiration from the photograph and my personal memories. We can also utilize existing cartoons and illustrations to create ekphrastic poems. I frequently use the illustrations of Jim Pavlidis to co...
24 comments
Read more

Opposite Poems

O pp o s ite P oem s In his book, ' How To Write Poetry,'  Paul Janeczko presents the idea of opposite poems. Paul suggests they could also be referred to as antonym poems. This is wordplay and it's fun to try. Here are some examples Paul provides to help us see very clearly how these short little poems work. I think the opposite of chair Is sitting down with nothing there What is the opposite of kind? A goat that butts you from behind Paul Janeczko You will  notice the poems are written in rhyming couplets. They can be extended so long as you remember to write in couplets. Paul shows us how this is done. What is the opposite of new? Stale gum that's hard to chew A hot-dog roll as hard as rock Or a soiled and smelly forgotten sock You might notice that some of Paul's opposite Poems begin with a question. The remainder of the poem answer the question posed. Opposite poems are a challenge, but it is a challenge worth trying. N...
26 comments
Read more

Powerful Poetry, 'Refugees' by Brian Bilston

  This week, Poetry Friday is hosted by Janice Scully  @ Salt City Verse where Janice shares some original words and offers us a taste of Thomas Carlyle to ponder. I encourage you to join a host of poets from all around the globe and visit Janice's page... Almost two years to the day, I wrote a post featuring the poem 'Refugees' by Brian Bilston. The poem was included in Brian's first book of poetry, 'You Took The Last Bus Home.' A very powerful Reverso poem and technically brilliant.  A Reverso poem can be read from top to bottom or bottom to top. It will often express opposite opinions depending on which way you read it. Such poems really make us think. A Reverso poem is like a picture turned upside down, a frowning face upended to reveal a smiling one. The poem read in reverse, contradicts itself with an opposing message. In 'Refugee' Brian Bilston focuses on a societal issue that tends to polarize feelings and the opposing views are clearly in eviden...
14 comments
Read more