I ... entered the poem of life, whose purpose is ... simply to witness the beauties of the world, to discover the many forms that love can take. (Barabara Blackman in 'Glass After Glass')

These poems are works in progress and may be updated without notice. Nevertheless copyright applies to all writings here and all photos (which are either my own or used with permission). Thank you for your comments. I read and appreciate them all, and reply here to specific points that seem to need it — or as I have the leisure. Otherwise I reciprocate by reading and commenting on your blog posts as much as possible.

14 March 2013

Delightful How the Cicadas


(A Pi poem for Pi Day)

Delightful
how
the cicadas

sing

in repetitive
yet
intricately musical chantings —
when slowed
for our unaware ears

by digital means,

so that now
we distinguish notes
which we imagine as coming
from exotic, unknown instruments …
as, most sublimely, they do.

(I once heard such a slowed recording — amazing, unrecognisable.)

Pi poems are also known as Cadae (the alphabetical equivalent of the first 5 digits of Pi). Both syllables per line and lines per stanza follow the Pi sequence of numbers.

3 comments:

  1. ha....knew it was pi day...but had never heard of this form....fascinating it works both in syllable and word...i like the sound of the cicadas

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  2. I havent heard of the form either. It is clever. And the thought of the recording is wonderful. I so love the sound of cicadas.

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  3. I thought that, just for fun, I must do a Pi poem for Pi Day — and somehow, with no external trigger, the memory of that recording presented itself. Who knows how the subconscious works? Glad to have intrigued you both! :)

    ReplyDelete

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