A Fibonacci is a type of poem that is based on the Fibonacci sequence that is used in mathematics. The number of syllables in each line of the poem corresponds to the number in the sequence. The number of syllables in any one line will equal the total syllables used in the two preceding lines.
Fibonacci poems tend to be quite short because of the issue with every line of the poem needing to be longer than the one before. Most poems of this type tend to be made up of six lines or less. The last syllable in each line may rhyme with other lines but this is not a requirement for this type of poem.
The Fibonacci sequence technically starts with a zero. This poem is recognised by a pause at the beginning of the poem. This is an important feature of the poem and is something that should be taken into consideration when the poem is being read out loud.
These types of poems are known as Fibonacci poems because they use the sequence that was made famous by the 12th Century mathematician Fibonacci. However, there are examples of this type of poetry that go back much further than this and are written in Sanskrit. It is believed that it was a Sanskrit grammarian named Pingala who was the first person to discover this sequence as far back as 500 BC.
The number of syllables in each line must equal the sum of the syllables in the two previous lines. So, start with 0 and 1, add them together to get your next number, which is also 1, 2 comes next, then add 2 and 1 to get 3, and so on. Fibonnaci: 0, 1, 1, 2, 3, 5, 8, 13, 21... Poetry: 1 syllable, 1 syllable, 2 syllables, 3 syllables, 5 syllables, 8 syllables, 13 syllables, 21 syllables...
Example
I
like
to blog.
Frequently.
Theory matters.
Computer science (theory)
is my home and geometric algorithms are
sublime. Let P be a set of points in general position in the plane. Amen.
My
brain
can find
such solace
in this simple verse
made of certain syllable words.