A celebration of poetry written by members and friends of the MuseItUp Club. Submissions are invited for
this page.*
Fibonacci Poems or “Fibs”
Examples and an explanation
by Pamela A. Shirkey
Winter's Warning
Snow
Falls.
Silent flakes
Drifting down
Beautiful and deep.
Death can hide behind a white mask.
………………..
What is a Fib? It's a 20 syllable poem with a syllable count by line of 1/1/2/3/5/8 -the classic
Fibonacci sequence. These sequences have long been part of various poetic structures. However, "the Fib" is a Gregory
K. Pincus take on the idea. Read about it here in the New York Times article:
http://preview.tinyurl.com/38tpkr
What are Pincus' rules governing Fibs? The most important thing other than the syllable
count of 1/1/2/3/5/8 is that all rules can be broken.
Fibbing focuses on word choice and a rule that some Fib writers hold themselves to is "no articles
or conjunctions in the ONE syllable lines."
There's definitely a difference between good Fibs and ones that read like a 20
syllable sentence broken into Fib form. Often, that difference is in focusing on those two one-syllable lines: "Fish/swim."
is a stronger start than "He/is." If there's a natural break between the lines, it usually reads better. If a thought can
finish at a line end, that's great. Some writers love using the eight-syllable line in counterpoint or as a thought of
its own.
Then there are Fibs that tend to fall into subsets: Pop Culture Fibs, Rhyming Fibs (Traditionally,
Fibonacci poetry is not a rhyming form. But it CAN rhyme.), and Fibs that fib are three examples mentioned on Pincus' site.
Fibs can have a title but try to limit it to fewer that seven words.
I would like to add SciFi Fibs to the genre - Fibs that have a science fiction or fantasy theme
similar to SciFiKu (haiku with speculative fiction subjects http://www.scifaiku.com).
My Ganymede Girl
Her
scales
are smooth.
Her teeth sharp.
Snakes writhe in her hair.
Interspecies love conquers all.
....................
Astronaut's Lament
Cold
dark
coffin
floats through space.
Once an explorer -
Now a tomb aimed toward distant stars.
....................
Kubrick's Space Odessey
Hands
fling
weapons.
Bones fly up
morphing into bombs
hanging over our heads in space.
....................
Now that you know how a Fib poem is created, why don't you give it a whirl?
© Pamela A. Shirkey
Of all the writing that Pam Shirkey does -- professional, technical, advertising copy, editing,
non-fiction articles and interviews -- she enjoys fiction writing the most. She has had numerous fiction pieces
published and has won writing prizes in haiku, poetry, flash fiction, short stories, and creative non-fiction. She
is one of the contributing authors featured in The Muse On Writing book and is currently working on a dark
fantasy novel.
