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3 14 15 9 2 {perimeter}
by Richard Paez
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draw a circle where you wish
and in the center place a stone
that is where you'll find me
staring out at you
i am the unmoving fury
of a murdered predator
a terminal velocity
that relativity has forgotten
this stone that is me
is inertia incarnate
frozen like a photograph
and polished like a mirror
a convex memory
that distorts all it reflects
yet no matter how long my radius
or distorted my circumference
the formula is unchanged
i thought that these theorems
could not hold me forever
i hoped the rules would change
at the quantum level
but i stand and look
out to the horizon line
my eyes water
with the focusing of distance
i turn, and by degrees
see perimeter all around me
even if the earth's radius
were to become my radius
and my circumference infinite
no matter where i go
i would still be in the center
i cannot divide by zero
even murdered predators
strain and stretch to survive
it is the arithmetic of biology
as unchanging as pi
from here in the center
i triangulate the distance
strain to see the pattern
out there on the horizon line
my last hope
of solving your riddle
3.1415926535897932384626433832795028841971693993751058209749445923078164062862 089986280348253421170679821480865132823066470938446095505822317253594081284811 174502841027019385211055596446229489549303819644288109756659334461284756482337 867831652712019091456485669234603486104543266482133936072602491412737245870066 063155881748815209209628292540917153643678925903600113305305488204665213841469 519415116094330572703657595919530921861173819326117931051185480744623799627495 673518857527248912279381830119491298336733624406566430860213949463952247371907 021798609437027705392171762931767523846748184676694051320005681271452635608277 857713427577896091736371787214684409012249534301465495853710507922796892589235 420199561121290219608640344181598136297747713099605187072113499999983729780499 510597317328160963185950244594553469083026425223082533446850352619311881710100 031378387528865875332083814206171776691473035982534904287554687311595628638823 537875937519577818577805321712268066130019278766111959092164201989380952572010 654858632788659361533818279682303019520353018529689957736225994138912497217752 834791315155748572424541506959508295331168617278558890750983817546374649393192 550604009277016711390098488240128583616035637076601047101819429555961989467678 374494482553797747268471040475346462080466842590694912933136770289891521047521 620569660240580381501935112533824300355876402474964732639141992726042699227967 823547816360093417216412199245863150302861829745557067498385054945885869269956 909272107975093029553211653449872027559602364806654991198818347977535663698074 265425278625518184175746728909777727938000816470600161452491921732172147723501 414419735685481613611573525521334757418494684385233239073941433345477624168625 189835694855620992192221842725502542568876717904946016534668049886272327917860 857843838279679766814541009538837863609506800642251252051173929848960841284886 269456042419652850222106611863067442786220391949450471237137869609563643719172 874677646575739624138908658326459958133904780275900994657640789512694683983525 957098258226205224894077267194782684826014769909026401363944374553050682034962 524517493996514314298091906592509372216964615157098583874105978859597729754989 301617539284681382686838689427741559918559252459539594310499725246808459872736 446958486538367362226260991246080512438843904512441365497627807977156914359977 001296160894416948685558484063534220722258284886481584560285060168427394522674 676788952521385225499546667278239864565961163548862305774564980355936345681743 241125150760694794510965960940252288797108931456691368672287489405601015033086 179286809208747609178249385890097149096759852613655497818931297848216829989487 226588048575640142704775551323796414515237462343645428584447952658678210511413 547357395231134271661021359695362314429524849371871101457654035902799344037420 073105785390621983874478084784896833214457138687519435064302184531910484810053 706146806749192781911979399520614196634287544406437451237181921799983910159195 618146751426912397489409071864942319615679452080951465502252316038819301420937 621378559566389377870830390697920773467221825625996615014215030680384477345492 026054146659252014974428507325186660021324340881907104863317346496514539057962 685610055081066587969981635747363840525714591028970641401109712062804390397595 156771577004203378699360072305587631763594218731251471205329281918261861258673 215791984148488291644706095752706957220917567116722910981690915280173506712748 583222871835209353965725121083579151369882091444210067510334671103141267111369 908658516398315019701651511685171437657618351556508849099898599823873455283316 355076479185358932261854896321329330898570642046752590709154814165498594616371
802709819943099244889575712828905923233260972997120844335732654893823911932597
463667305836041428138830320382490375898524374417029132765618093773444030707469
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09/25/2001 Author's Note: {Published in the "Eyrie" literary magazine, Tallahassee Community College, 2001}
Posted on 09/25/2001
Copyright © 2024 Richard Paez
| Member Comments on this Poem |
| Posted by Bruce W Niedt on 07/01/03 at 09:23 PM And some relationships, like pi, never seem to resolve themselves.... Inspired work, Malachi, and congrats on being in the monthly Spotlight! d:-) |
| Posted by Alex Smyth on 07/03/03 at 05:21 AM Your poem is wonderfully imaginative and well honed, the entire page of the poem would make an interesting object in a frame. It is aesthetic. |
| Posted by Chris Sorrenti on 07/05/03 at 01:51 PM Amazing work Richard. Can't help but admire the painstaking effort you've put into this. Kudos! |
| Posted by Andrew S Adams on 07/05/03 at 06:11 PM tis a great shame that i'd never made a point of reading your works before; i've read and reread this poem about 6 times now; and every time, i feel something new from it. it is unsettling, but somehow still perfect- much like pi itself- you run circles around my mind with this one. congradulations on the member spotlight; i can see that from reading just one poem of yours that you are most deserving. *goes to read more*.. peace ~A |
| Posted by Jason Wardell on 08/24/03 at 02:32 AM Absolutely amazing. I can't even begin to fathom the process leading to something this wonderful. You have me awestruck, sir. :) |
| Posted by Jeanne Marie Hoffman on 02/26/04 at 11:15 PM I absolutely love how you can draw such parallels between life and numbers. It boggles my mind, yet when you write it, it is so obvious |
| Posted by Rebecca Andre on 03/15/09 at 04:35 AM happy pi day! oh wait it's after midnight.. nevermind |
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