Tuesday, March 10, 2009

Pi Poem

Here is a new poem I just wrote, in English and French, for Pi Day (March 14th):

PI

Three, One, Four, One, Five, and On
The numbers recount their endless tale.
Three - Barefoot green, a silent voice.
White as hunger, One is twice
Bright like babies’ eyes.
Four is timid, envious of E.
Five, Punctuation or a pregnant sigh
Precedes proud Nine, colour of falling night.
Two, an unfastened knot,
A wayward wind, the hollow of Six resounding.
Nearby, Eight, a cloud of fireflies above a lake
Over which I skim Sevens
Remembering that Zero is nothing but a circle.

PI

Trois, Un, Quatre, Un, Cinq, et ainsi de suite
Les chiffres racontent leur histoire sans limite.
Trois – vert, les pieds nus, une voix silencieuse.
Blanc comme la faim, Un est vif
Comme les yeux d’un bébé.
Quatre est timide, envieux du E.
Cinq, ponctuation ou soupir lourd
Précède le Neuf fier, couleur d’une nuit tombante.
Deux, un nœud défait, vent rebelle,
Comme le creux du Six qui résonne.
Tout près, Huit, nuage de lucioles au dessus d’un lac
Sur lequel je fais des ricochets avec les Septs
En me souvenant que Zéro n’est rien qu’un cercle.

38 comments:

Anonymous said...

Very nice poems both the english and the french.I really enjoyed them.

j8j88 said...

Cool! :)

Anonymous said...

Merci pour ce poème...
It's amazing how different it sounds in both langages, while it feels the same.
Un sentiment de vaste calme, comme un lieu tellement beau que l'on se sait petit.
Thanks for caring enought to share.
Vous découvrir me fait me poser tant de questions, que j'ai hâte de vous lire.

Aux Plaisirs,
Pouhiou.

Pieter said...

Thanks for sharing your amazing story on the VRT television show.

Etienne said...

Bonjour Daniel,
Je viens de lire votre "Pi poem" que j'ai trouvé étonnant et très beau.
Je viens de dévorer votre autobiographie que j'ai trouvé fascinante. Je voulais vous poser une question sur une exemple que vous développez sur les probabilités. Si un couple à deux enfants, et que le premier est un garçon, vous dites que la probabilité que le second soit une fille est de deux sur trois, vous basant sur les couples possibles restants (GG, FG, GF). Je suis désolé mais je ne comprends pas cet exemple pourtant très simple, et malgré vos explications je persiste à croire que la probabilité est de une sur deux. En effet, j'aurais tendance à dire que les probabilités "sachant que" ne s'appliquent pas car les deux événements (les deux naissances) sont indépendants. De plus, je comprends bien qu'il existe 4 couples possibles au départ(FG, GF, FF, GG), mais comme le 1er est un garçon, alors il faut enlever des couples possibles ceux pour lesquels le 1er est une fille (FG et FF), et donc on retrouverait 1/2? J'apprécierais beaucoup une réponse de votre part, par exemple sur e_raynalt chez hotmail.com
Amicalement,
Etienne

Unknown said...

I really like it. It's beautiful and fascinating to think that anyone could see numbers like that.

Anonymous said...

Hallo Daniel

as a mathematician, I also like numbers. However, I don't share the kind experiences on the beauty of numbers you describe.
For me, one of the most beautiful aspect on numbers is continued fractions, for example continued fractions for 4/pi and pi/2 as on
http://mathworld.wolfram.com/PiContinuedFraction.html
or Lambert's simple continuous fraction for e
e = [2; 1, 2, 1, 1, 4, 1, 1, 6, 1, 1, 8, ...]
and of course Ramanujan's unbelievable (and not understandable) continued fractions as for example on
http://mathworld.wolfram.com/RamanujanContinuedFractions.html

What do you feel for continued fractions ?
Have you the ability to understand Ramanujan's work ?

Regards from Kaiserslautern, Germany

Jacques Baratié said...

Mia nevino estas aŭtisma sed bedaŭrinde ŝi ne havas viajn intelektajn talentojn. Dankon pro via helpo por pli bone kompreni aŭtismon. Mi esperas, ke via agado ebligos iutage plibonigi la vivon de ĉiujn aŭtismulojn.

Amikajn salutojn

Jacques

Mark said...

My gh0d that's beautiful.

Mark said...

Apologies, double post - but "2 the unfastened knot" - that elicits sensations of relief in my mind, like I see something that I've always known but never articulated. Thank you for this tiny moment of beauty.

Anonymous said...

Merci Daniel d'être ce que tu es ! Un être exeptionnel, tout simplement. Sans tricher, avec simplicité et l'envie de partager.

gégé

Anonymous said...

Happy Pi Day Daniel!

Brianna said...

I really enjoyed reading this!

Maryse said...

Dear Daniel,

Thank you so much !
Let me tell you ,the first time I've heard about you was on the french channel 2,unfortunately you didn't come,but I had time to note your name . After that, I bought the first book you wrote,It was just Beautiful reading it ! Thank you for giving your testimony and for being just yourself,what you have written is like the number one you can see bright,it's like a fresh breath at dawn,it's a light coming out of the dark,it's amazing how human brain works !
Your book gave me many emotions and caused me plenty of thoughts.
Most of all,thank you for sharing with us,you are blessed,your example might help lots of people,your courage and your honesty reached me to my heart,and your testimony reminds us to keep faith whatever might happen to us,
My joy was complete when I saw you for the first time on the T.V. last week,I'm on urge to buy your last book ... You are so sweet and so human,I like your smile and your mind !
Let me tell you,my daughter is as old as you.
As a poems writer myself,I appreciate your poem on numbers,it will help me to consider mathematics in a different way,I didn't know numbers could be seen colorful and palpable,from now and then,I'll think about it,as a poet and aesthtically speaking,your experience will help me to find new ways to describe a more colorful world !
You know,I've written a poem just thinking of you ? Do you mind if I dedicate it to you ? If you want,I can send it to you,if you are interested,just tell me .
With much Love
Maryse

Anonymous said...

To Daniel,

That's a really good poem. I like you experience numbers as colours and I like Pi especially as it's so colourful. I understood entirely what you meant when you said in Born on A Bkue Day 'Pi is beuatiful in it's own right.' I agree, it truly is. Happy Pi Day, for last Saturday anyway.

Anonymous said...

J'aimerais, en lisant, ce poème, comprendre un peu mieux les couleurs, les textures et les mouvements des nombres tels que vous les voyez. J'aurai bientôt terminé "je suis né un jour bleu" et ce livre m'a donné envie de vous peindre des nombres, car c'est graphiquement que je parviendrais le mieux à vous exprimer l'estime et l'admiration que j'ai pour vous.

Aoumen said...

Merci de partager ta réalité!

Cette réalité plus fidèle a la vie que notre monde d'aujourd'hui...

All the best,

si la vie est l'equation du bonheur que chacun y trouve sa réponse!

Anonymous said...

Very lovely. Thank you for posting this.

Anonymous said...

Dear Daniel,

I just finished reading 'Born on a Blue Day' and then I found your Pi poem. They are both amazing pieces of literature and I wanted to say thank you.

I think you are prodigious in many ways, not just your maths and language skills: you also have a prodigiously generous heart and are a prodigiously wonderful person! :) Thanks for sharing your story.

With love,
Jacqueline

Liliana W said...

Hi Daniel,

Loved the poem.. so much emotion and one can even feel the numbers! You are such an inspiration to discover more amazing minds :)

Anonymous said...

yellowhellow,
i am reading your first book, and bought the last one, nice wrighting. It reminded me a bit of mark haddon's the curious incident of the dog in the night-time, very nice
see you later and keep up
marieke (aeromodeller9@hotmail.com)

Anonymous said...

Ce poème est trop joli!!
Pouvoir associer lettres et chiffres, j'y avais jamais pensé! C'est vraiment quelque chose de créatif!
J'ai découvert votre livre "Je suis né un jour bleu" dans une librairie de la gare de Strasbourg, je l'ai acheté et je l'ai lu en 2 jours! J'ai adoré, votre monde est fantastique et intriguant! Et j'imagine comme vous avez du souffrir pendant l'enfance. Je ne suis pas autiste, mais il y a des choses parfois où je me retrouvais.
Je ne savais pas que vous parliez aussi le français, je suis ravie de pouvoir vous écrire en français.
Je suis en fac de Japonais, avez-vous pensé à apprendre le japonais? C'est une belle langue, mais en ce moment j'adore le coréen.
Kamsahamnida (ça veut dire : merci ^^)
Je n'ai pas encore la possibilité d'acheter votre nouveau livre (peut-être une âme chartiable de mon entourage voudra me l'acheter pour mon anniversaire :) ).
Moi je trouve que vous êtes un petit espoir, je ne sais pas de quoi, mais c'est le mot que j'associe avec vous.
Merci~


Soria

Anonymous said...

Bonjours Daniel heureuse de te connaitre je viens de lire ton livre qui est tres interressant car mon fils a un trouble d'hysarmonique est' ce un trouble autistique tout le monde me dit oui
passe sur masay76 et tu verras mes poemes une reponse de ta par me fera plaisir cordialement Nathalie

Netzaris said...

Arthur Rimbaud, - Voyelles - 1871.

A noir, E blanc, I rouge, U vert, O bleu : voyelles,
Je dirai quelque jour vos naissances latentes :
A, noir corset velu des mouches éclatantes
Qui bombinent autour des puanteurs cruelles,

Golfes d'ombre ; E, candeur des vapeurs et des tentes,
Lances des glaciers fiers, rois blancs, frissons d'ombelles ;
I, pourpres, sang craché, rire des lèvres belles
Dans la colère ou les ivresses pénitentes ;

U, cycles, vibrements divins des mers virides,
Paix des pâtis semés d'animaux, paix des rides
Que l'alchimie imprime aux grands fronts studieux ;

O, suprême Clairon plein des strideurs étranges,
Silence traversés des Mondes et des Anges :
- O l'Oméga, rayon violet de Ses Yeux ! -

Cathy said...

I am so excited that I found this site. I too love languages and plan to learn Spanish here. And the poems are a lovely bonus. I just finished reading Born on a Blue Day and watching Daniel on Letterman (youtube). Is it possible that my 5 yr old son with autism could grow up to be successful and happy and fulfilled??

Lotus said...

I like the pictures. Is that how you always see the world?
(in a way, I think I can relate. Only with words instead of numbers. I'm not very good with numbers.)

Anonymous said...

Hi Daniel,
Many thanks for your poems. May I ask you a question regarding the "le nombre d'or" (I don't know the translation in English). How do you see it ?
Regards
jjp

Unknown said...

Hola Daniel.
Por algún diario virtual leí que sabías hablar español también.
Decirte que me pareces un chico muy interesante. ¡Ya me gustaría poder hablar un idioma en una semana! Bueno, quién sabe... Cuando tenga tiempo libre lo intentaré.

En fin, que me ha gustado mucho este poema. Yo también escribo versos. Me ha encantado.

Bueno, no me extiendo más.

Un saludo desde Mallorca, España.

Best regards.

Anonymous said...

Merci Daniel de savoir parler de l'autisme avec autant d'optimisme.
Ma fille a 20 ans, elle est autiste haut niveau. On nous l'a dit il y a seulement quelques mois. Enfin on sait ce qu'elle n'est pas et on peut avancer. Elle est en langues étrangères appliquées et elle aime cela (anglais, espagnol et protuguais). Depuis qu'elle est à l'université, elle avance à grands pas et elle se fait même des copains. C'est grâce à des gens comme vous que l'on voit enfin l'avenir.

Anonymous said...

daniel, thank you and you are brilliant. i been searching for the meaning of the numbers in any ways but u did it well..i only could discribe number 3 to emotion and shape and color and words. i just bought a book of yours "born in a blue day" last week and i read for 3 days and yet am still at page 83. i cope the way u thinking of numbers, and u discribe it with shape, emotion and colors..the feelings is there.. i wish you could be my "guru" and lead me to understand psycology through numbers...

P/S: i love numbers but i hate maths.

cheers!!

Josh said...

They've never let me see them. I know they're perfect if zero is gone, but all I ever see is that they don't fit together. Being bilingual from birth is my failure because my thoughts come out so much slower and my mind index never keeps up from both connections. Thank you for finding this clarity and communicating rather than beliefs.

Fauve Du Tilly-Lefebvre said...

This poem moved me. Thank you.
Fauve

VEE said...

Your poem has given me an idea for an activity in my classroom. Thank you!

Evy said...

Daniel that was a beautiful, enlightening representaion of wonder that captures the very esence of your numerical world. Every word was a being that had a soul, it described, told a story; it spoke in more that words. It saw with feeling, every sensation, and number you've envisioned spoke to me. I am merely a 13 year old who longs with every fiber of my life to someday meet you. You are my role model: a person of great worth who I view as someone I can never be, but will aspire to be one day as great and increadable as you. I'm a writer, I have a sybolic mutualism with words. Let numbers be your friend, companion and ever being soulmate. Thank you for your beautiful words of sight. Thanks to you, I now haved memorized 171 decimal places of pi, just to numb my beliefs that I can be one day as great as you.

Ara said...

A good day to revisit your poem. Happy Pi day Daniel.

Benjamin Pierce said...

Quite a lot of pregnant suggestion in the language, even apart from representing a newly vivid way to view numbers. "White as Hunger" really struck me as not merely an interesting combination of wor(l)ds but as a very visceral experience of that color and its apparent emptiness, for example...and the notion of two being an unfastened knot makes me wonder of the whole history of the knot, it's tying and its'untying...something i will reflect on an indefinite number of times in the future. Thanks.

Cy said...

In case you read this I would like to say that my favourite part of all your poem was the end.

"Remembering that Zero is nothing but a circle"

Circles are kind.

Alaina said...

This poem creates such beautiful images in my mind. Great job!