Mandelbrot Has Died

A genius of mathematics - the literal visionary who allowed us all to see the world anew - Mandelbrot has died.  Fractals inspired countless writers, artists, as well as scientists.  Here is a link to Alice Fulton's essay on Fractals in poetry.

The Death of Mandelbrot

Within shape the shape in-widens

its own owning of imagination

the slice of ginger gingerly slid off a knife

as each blade is the lawn, as fern informs

infernal logic, fanning out sloughing

green.  Lightning makes its mark marking sky-light.

Snow flakes off snow to make and break ice small

and right, hot at heart with the thump of delight –

each jag and messy turn or spin a boomerang

that bangs back the yin.  I think

I cannot understand how all spreads:

peacock's flamboyance, shell's hard-luck contours,

a brilliant argument of whorls –

contains its own brand making as the hand made

fingertip's twirling private name speaking

breaking into bigger complications

that turn small and smaller, snick down.

Unnatural how nature snarls out its fame:

ridges and rivulets flame,

plucking the pane’s rain-dance open -

burn and drop both strewn

with numerate dazzling –

coast of legerdemain curling

deepness up to origin again.

Bolts of whiteness crack but will not strain.

Whitennes bolting does

force alight music

alert to straining crackles, curvaceous night.

poem by Todd Swift

(revised version from original post)