Depth
of Memory
Brains
stun
me
How
long can
one
remember
Trinity
3-0-1-5-6, our aunt’s,
The
family’s favorite, Aunt Gladys.
Her
phone number
dwelling
some
sixty
years
Hers
The
first
memorized
Emergencies
could
happen and kids might need quick advice
Today’s
prompt: Write a number poem. The poem could be inspired by a favorite number or
contain a number or be about numbers. I also used a new-to-me poetry form that
was suggested, called Tetractys (pronounced
to rhyme with malpractice). It’s a five-line syllabic verse whose syllable
count per line is 1, 2, 3, 4, 10. This poetic form was invented by Englishman Ray
Stebbing.
"Euclid, the mathematician of
classical times, considered the number series 1, 2, 3, 4 to have mystical
significance because its sum is 10, so he dignified it with a name of its own -
Tetractys.”
I
used a triple Tetractys in which the syllable count reverses in the second
stanza.
I had no idea that Euclid was the one to come up with the name Tetractys! How cool! Thank you for sharing this information and for sharing your take on the number prompt!
ReplyDeleteMy pleasure, Amy. xoA
DeleteNice! Very interesting spin on today's prompt! And I like the nostalgia of it.
ReplyDeleteFunny, Christine, I immediately went there when thinking about numbers. Thank you. xoA
DeleteAnother learning curve. Thanks Annis! :D
ReplyDeletehttp://wp.me/p2Mm4H-fu
Thank YOU, Shah. xoA
DeleteIt is amazing how some things linger...old phone numbers, minutiae of the past. Very nice...and the form is interesting.
ReplyDeleteI found the form interesting, too. Thanks, Anna. xoA
ReplyDelete