March 14th is observed annually as Pi Day as well as International Day of Mathematics. And I do love a slice of pi-e at any time, which is where the cadae comes in, for cadae is a wonderful slice of pi too! Read on to learn more…

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Poetic Sundays: Cadae is a Wonderful Slice of Pi

The word ‘cadae’ is a made-up word and is the alphabetical equivalent of the first five digits of pi, 3.1415. Pi is often represented as π, is a mathematical constant that is the ratio of a circle’s circumference to its diameter approximately equal to the number 3.14 or, to fourteen places, 3.1415926535897.

What is the Cadae?

The cadae is a poetic form that seems to have been inspired by the fib and other mathematical poetic forms. With its focus on the first five digits of pi, and the way it does so, it seems like a cross between a haiku and a sonnet (source – Tony Leuzzi’s page via Wikipedia).

Poetically, the cadae form is based on the number pi on two levels, the stanzas, and the lines. There are a couple variations of this form. For both variations, the first level follows the same rule – it has five stanzas with 3, 1, 4, 1, and 5 lines each (following the first five digits of Pi), respectively for a total of fourteen lines in the poem. The two variations differ on that second level

Variation One: Level Two: On the second level, the lines of the poem for each stanza contain a specific number of syllables, corresponding to the first five digits of pi once again. So the lines in the first stanza contain three syllables each, the single line in the second stanza is one syllable, the third stanza has four syllables per line, and so on.

Variation Two: Level Two: On the second level, the lines across the poem each contain a specific number of syllables, corresponding to the sequence of Pi itself. So the first line of the poem has three syllables, the second has one, the third four, the fourth one, and so on.

The Cadae’s Characteristics

Variation One:

At its most basic, the cadae’s characteristics are that it is:

• Stanzaic: has five varying line stanzas of 3/1/4/1/5 lines respectively
• Syllabic: number of syllables in the lines of each stanza are the same as the number of lines in that stanza (so 3 syllables in each line of the first stanza which has three lines, one syllable in the second single line stanza, and so on)
• Rhyming optional
• Title optional: I have seen both titled and untitled poems, so it doesn’t seem to be a requirement

Variation Two:

At its most basic, the cadae’s characteristics are that it is:

• Stanzaic: has five varying line stanzas of 3/1/4/1/5 lines respectively
• Syllabic: with a syllabic structure that follows the sequence of the digits of Pi across the 14 lines of the poem, 3/1/4/1/5/9/2/6/5/3/5/8/9/7
• Rhyming optional
• Title optional: I have seen both titled and untitled poems, so it doesn’t seem to be a requirement

Pi in the Sky!

• Amp it up one more level by trying to ensure that the number of letters in the words of the poem also follow the Pi sequence!!!
• Made it more than a cadae! Make it a ‘cadaeic’ – which includes two more digits of Pi and follow either variation above. Or keep going as you wish keeping either variation’s rules in mind!!

This is how each variation looks

Variation One:

Stanza #: number of lines with number of syllables in each line (3/3/3 means 3 lines with 3 syllables each; for example, 2/3 would mean 2 lines with 2 syllables in first line and 3 in the second)

S1: 3/3/3
S2: 1
S3: 4/4/4/4
S4: 1
S5: 5/5/5/5/5

Variation Two:

Stanza #: number of lines with number of syllables in each line (3/3/3 means 3 lines with 3 syllables each; for example, 2/3 would mean 2 lines with 2 syllables in first line and 3 in the second)

S1: 3/1/4
S2: 1
S3: 5/9/2/6
S4: 5
S5: 3/5/8/9/7

h/t, Additional Reading, and References

• On Writing Fibonacci and Cadae Poems (via Wikipedia)
• The amazing Cadaeic Cadenza written by Mike Keith (this is a many-one-upmanship of the cadae!)

My Attempt at it, for the Cadae is A Wonderful Slice of Pi-e Indeed!

Variation One

A Pie-ce of Me
He is me
Kind of.. not
really..

Son…

Often lost somewhere –
in his own thoughts –
when, well, he ought
to be aware.

Boy

oh boy, then again,
his thoughts, when he speaks
them, are like a venn
sketch of fun and deep,
of wisdom arcane!
~ vidya @ ladyinreadwrites

Variation Two:

Sweetie-Pie
She is my
sweet
wonderful girl!

Sigh….

She tests my patience,
at times, and at others, my impatience!
Smile..grin..
For there is that side too…

~ goofy silly one!

And then, weep….
happy tears are these…
her thoughtfulness tugs at heartstrings,
envelopes us all in fresh-baked warmth,
just like her “world’s best” pie-kies!
~ Vidya Tiru

Recently

On My Blog & at Home

My recent posts since and including my last Sunday Scribblings:

• Planned Randomness Can Be Awesome
• A ChickTionary: Wonderful and Witty Words for Women
• 10 Amazing Women Authors (and Illustrators) of Children’s Books
• Wonderful Women of Tennis
• Sunday Scribblings #137: How to Sing Stresses Away With Sappho

Whether it was just its time (it was, after all, 14 years old) or a result of the weird weather recently, our gas water heater developed a leak, and along with all the rain water, the leak found its way to our garage floor as well. So we spent time this past week researching on what next, and finally getting it replaced (ongoing Sunday). And apparently, this Sunday is the start of National Fix a Leak Week (coincidence? I think not!:))

And yes, we decided to get a Ninja Dualbrew for ourselves for the weekend coffees for us (cold ones for the teen, and a hot brew for us). We have just tried it a couple of times, and thanks to excellent Costa Rican coffee (a gift from family), we are loving it! We have thought about a fancier coffee maker at times, but then decided that our weekend coffee drinking habit is not worth that splurge.

Upcoming

On My Blog & Homefront

Well, more rain here for us, and hopefully, I can pour some words on to posts here as well.

This Week’s Celebrations

Literary Celebrations (close-to-it also!)

• Literary birthdays this week of March include: Alastair Reynolds on the 13th; 15th is Ben Okri; the 16th Alice Hoffman; 17th is Amitava Kumar and Penelope Lively; 18th is John Updike; 19th is Irving Wallace
• International Day of Mathematics is on the 14th of march as well as National Pi Day
• March 14th is also National Write Down Your Story Day and Science Education Day
• It is World Speech Day on the 15th followed by National Freedom of Information Day on the 16th and then
• International Read To Me Day on the 19th!

Foodie Celebrations

• National Coconut Torte Day is celebrated every year on March 13. Have you had this delish dessert? I think I have, but can’t recall, and simply looking at its description has me wanting to try it out now anyways!
• The 14th celebrates the chip for it is National Potato Chip Day and it is also Bake a Pie in Solidarity Day.
• March 15th is National Pears Helene Day and National Peanut Lovers Day
• Celebrate National Artichoke Hearts Day on the 16th
• The 18th is National Lacy Oatmeal Cookie Day (and I love these!)
• It is National Chocolate Caramel Day on the 19th and Pretzel Sunday!

Other Celebrations

• International Every Girl Wins Day as well as Good Samaritan Day are both celebrated on March 13
• March 14th is National Children’s Craft Day, National Learn About Butterflies Day, as well as Equal Pay Day. It is also Genius Day and International Ask a Question Day
• It is National Everything You Think is Wrong Day on the 15th (so… :-))
• After all things wrong, it is Everything You Do Is Right Day on the 16th of March as well as National Panda Day
• March 17th is Absolutely Incredible Kid Day and St. Patrick’s Day
• Followed by National Awkward Moments Day on the 18th.. Oh well….!
• March 19th is National Let’s Laugh Day and National Backyard Day

Wrapping up my Sunday Scribblings

So dear reader, you have reached the end of this Sunday Scribblings! As always, I welcome your thoughts, comments, and suggestions about this post. And do let me know if you plan to celebrate any of these mentioned celebrations this coming week/month? 

Linking this to the Sunday Post over at the Caffeinated Reviewer and the Sunday Salon