A Prime Time to Rhyme

April is Poetry Month, and while poetry is made of words, numbers rule their rhyming. Think about Dr. Seuss books, where two lines in a row rhyme: "Knox in box / Fox in socks." Since the first 2 lines rhyme, then the 3rd and 4th rhyme, we call that an a-a-b-b pattern. But sometimes not all the lines rhyme, and the patterns can get more complicated. So we were amazed by New Orleans "sidewalk poet" Antoine: Tell him your favorite thing, and he'll write a poem about it -- then you decide how much to pay him for it. We asked for a poem about math, which you can find below!

Wee Ones: If you say "big wig pig," how many rhyming words do you have?

Little Kids: Try to think of 4 words that rhyme with your first name. Then say the whole set 5 times fast!
Bonus: If Antoine writes a $10 poem for your name, and you have $2, how many more dollars do you need to pay him?

Big Kids: If Antoine thinks up 7 3-letter rhyming words, how many letters does he have to type in total?
Bonus: Poems called "sonnets" have 14 lines, while "haikus" have just 3. On which day does Antoine type more lines, a 10-sonnet day or a 20-haiku day?

Answers:

Wee Ones: 3 rhyming words.

Little Kids: Different for everyone...see if you can rhyme with your name!
Bonus: $8 more.

Big Kids: 21 letters.
Bonus: The sonnet day is more line-heavy: 140 lines v. 60 lines.

 

 

And here is Antoine's poem - thank you Antoine for the inspiration!

it's a system
click
it's a system of an infinite
number of systems
it's the imagination
at play
inventing dimensions
into dimensions

turning an equation into
a sculpted crystal
floating somewhere
around which
the mind circles
admiring

it's the art
of creating sideways
back alleys
and getting stuck into
nerve-wracking dead-ends
and try again
and again
till it equals
true.

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