Gliding Through Fibonacci

I start on the edge of the (w)hole
A gaping maw aching to swallow me
(Like so much fish thrown carelessly
Into the mouth of a starving whale)
The crispness of its rounded edges
Emphasize the futility of attempted escape
Can’t go over it, can’t go under it
Gotta go through it.

So I tip forward on my toes and fall,
Straight down one straight chute
(Newton’s alleged apple
Couldn’t have fallen straighter)
Before entering a second shape
As unerringly vertical as the first.
Bit boring yes, those twin upright towers,
But they initiate that perfect sequence.

Because here I enter the third shape.
It begins with a smooth curve
I must maneuver as expertly
As any Olympic bobsled team,
Though the graceful curve is cut off
With a sharp jerk to the left
(Be carful to avoid whiplash)
And I shoot horizontally—

And enter a half-circle curling up,
Spinning me out before opening
Into a second identical crescent,
And then a third again. I’ve soared
Through three Cheshire-Cat smiles
Before I’m suddenly flying up,
Up a great vertical tunnel
And jerking left (whiplash again)

To be dumped into a wide arc.
And I spin around and around
This perfect loop-da-loop.
Like one of those old-fashioned
Coaster rides for small children,
(“Please stand against the giraffe’s
Neck to ensure you’re tall enough”)
Only this one’s endless. Infinite.

Used by permission of Cary Anne Kane
Search the PFTW site for more “fibonacci poems.”