
Fibonacci on Mars
Kishwar Bare
Poetry
(Written originally as a response to Thread Lit Mag's theme "Numerical", with each stanza's total syllables following the Fibonacci sequence in descending order, starting from 21. The flowers mentioned have petal numbers that correspond to numbers in the sequence. Only objects on Earth follow the Fibonacci sequence, hence the poem's speaker's delight when noticing it on Mars. Fibonacci came up with the sequence after theorizing about the population of rabbits, or hares.)
Human on Mars saw a hare in a field of flowers. Started, suddenly remembered,
He grabbed the nearest petal, three on the lily,
Five on the rose, eight on Cosmos!
He laughed in delight.
Found a sunflower,
Counted the seeds, ran a finger,
Down those golden rows; saw the daisy, daisy, daisies!
Honeysuckle, Iris, Chicory; Delphinium, Aster, and cried, found home again.