This month Catherine Flynn challenged us to write any sort of mathematical poem. It was a nice open prompt with lots of options, and Catherine included some links to inspire us. I decided pretty quickly that I wanted to write a Fib poem. I had the sense, whether accurate it or not, that it should be written about something natural. I tossed around a few ideas until, serendipitously, a blizzard arrived.
Blizzard
First
one
snowflake
feathered down
then two threefour and
soon the sky was dizzy with snow
©Molly Hogan
After playing around with that, I started thinking about the number, zero. Back when I taught first grade, I used to write with my first graders in response to a mentor text called “Zero is…” I always loved their responses and how the text got us thinking about zero in different ways. It reminded me that there’s more to zero than meets the eye.
In Tennis, Zero Is Love
Zero
is an absence,
a placeholder
meaning nothing is there.
An even number,
it’s the fulcrum
on the number line
between positives
and negatives.
Zero, added,
changes
nothing.
Still, Zero is nuanced.
Holding its place,
it can move numbers
toward infinity
or with a single operation
fully erase them.
It’s open
to interpretation:
With zero,
context is everything.
When you walk beside me,
your hand in mine,
Zero is my loneliness.
©Molly Hogan, draft
If you’re interested in reading what the other Inklings have done with this challenge, check out their posts:
Linda Mitchell
Margaret Simon
Catherine Flynn
Heidi Mordhorst
MaryLee Hahn
This week’s Poetry Friday Roundup is hosted by Elisabeth Norton at her blog, Unexpected Intersections.
Nix the comfort zone 
Molly, how effectively you tie mathematics to emotion! And it’s interesting to think about zero, a rather sobering concept. Zero does not describe the snowflakes outside my window today. 😉
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Zero’s a pretty fascinating number–it definitely pulls its weight!
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Wonderful poems! I love how you take zero for a walk and your snowstorm fib alongside the images dizzies my deep southern mind.
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There’s nothing like a snowstorm to set the senses spinning! 🙂
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I love the phrase “the sky was dizzy with snow.” And the idea that “zero is open to interpretation.”
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Context is everything, right? Zero dollars….in my bank account…or in debt? lol
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[…] MitchellMolly HoganCatherine FlynnHeidi MordhorstMaryLee […]
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Your zero poem is swoon-worthy, Molly.
“your hand in mine,
Zero is my loneliness”
Stay warm! There’s zero snow in my neck of the woods, I’m thankful for ‘nothing’. 😉
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I love the snow, but I’d be happy with zero ice.
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[…] Heidi Mordhorst @ My Juicy Little UniverseLinda Mitchell @ A Word EdgewiseMargaret Simon @ Reflections on the TecheMary Lee Hahn @ A(nother) Year of ReadingMolly Hogan @ Nix the Comfort Zone […]
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I imagine many of us know about being “dizzy with snow” this week. I love them both, Molly, & hearing that you used that 0 to write with first graders, awesome. Love, too, “context is everything”. Yes! Hope you are more than cozy this wintry weekend.
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Thanks, Linda. I’d hoped to go out to take some photos this morning but I couldn’t persuade myself that -5 sounded like much fun. Some days that’s an easier sell…
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Thanks for these word images; I’m going to sit with them (here in the AZ desert) where snow is mythical and zero is aplenty.
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I was just saying how much I want to travel out west. Beauty has so many different faces.
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These are both wonderful, Molly! I actually love it when the world is “dizzy with snow.” And “In Tennis, Zero is Love” is the perfect title for your poem!
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Thanks, Catherine! I debated about that title for a couple of reasons, so I’m glad you liked it. (Another saga in the ongoing “titles are my nemesis”)
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What a wonderful idea, mathematical poems. Blizzard’s dizziness is wonderful, and the zero poem so thoughtful. Great job! Thanks a million!
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I love the idea that math is already implicit in much of poetry. It was a very friendly prompt–wide open to interpretation 🙂
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Your fib is just wonderful, Molly. And your Zero poem…pure delight. I would love to observe you talking to the first graders about what zero means. I love the last line….zero is my loneliness, your hand in mine and I like everything about your fib, but snow feathered down is genius and the way you split the line…..then two threefour and and dizzy with snow, how perfect. One time maybe 20 years ago, and maybe twice since, I went on my back porch and looked up, I could see the snowflakes starting to pour down out of the clouds like coming from buckets, it was something I had never seen before. They were feathering down…absolutely like out of a pillow shaking onto us. Pure delight this post, Molly. Thank you.
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Thanks, Janet. Some of the snowflakes here on Friday were the size of silver dollars. It was crazy! (and very distracting while I tried to focus on a Zoom PD meeting! lol) Your snow moment sounds like something otherworldly and a memory to cherish!
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Bridget alerted me to the fact that you and I had both written poems about zero, Molly. The provocations were unrelated, but we both landed in the same zone. Enjoyed your take on zero and there are some crossovers. Go figure!
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I’m off to check out your zero poem, Alan, and interested to compare/contrast. Thanks for letting me know!
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I love both of these, but “In Tennis, Zero Is Love” (GREAT title, btw) really knocked my socks off.
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Thanks, Mary Lee! I love having positive title feedback. 🙂
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Thanks for making me think of zero in whole new ways, Molly!! Love your poems; “zero is my loneliness” is the perfect feel good final line.
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Thanks, Jama. I didn’t expect this to turn into a love poem, but there you are!
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I love the lines “Zero, added,/changes/nothing” Whew! It’s saying so much just in those few words.
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I was a bit worried that my understanding of zero and related math concepts might not add up!
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Molly, “context IS everything,” in so many instances–watching you play is very fun, and a poem bookended by double-z is a winner. You worked the rhythm so well in your fib!
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Thanks, Heidi. The importance of context with numbers is a concept that can elude students. Is two always a small number? Well, when it’s two elephants in the classroom, it isn’t!
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I love your snowflake fib and your take on zero, zero might be happy with it too. And the last stanza overflows with feeing,
“When you walk beside me,
your hand in mine,
Zero is my loneliness.”
Thanks Molly!
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Thanks, Michelle. That blizzard was a pretty benign one for us (lots of snow, no lost power, no need to commute), so it was fun to try to capture it in a poem.
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These are wonderful! I am particularly in awe of your Fib poem – that’s a form I find particularly challenging. And I love how beautifully and fully you’re able to draw on your understanding of math in the Zero poem. Thanks for sharing these today and for being part of the Poetry Friday Party!
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I love your zero poem, especially the title and first four lines. Your Fib poem is equally as wonderful!
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