The Dirigible Balloon
Poetry for Children

The Fibonacci Spell

Listen to Gaynor read her poem ...
The sky is dark, the silence deep
And nothing stirs in nature’s sleep.
But wait, who’s that? There, standing still,
Whose sweeping cloak keeps out the chill.
His hat is pointy, star-shapes gleam.
He slowly moves as in a dream.
His eyes are sharp, with furrowed brow.
He holds a wand. I see it now.
And from its tip, out shoots a spark.
It flickers, lighting up the dark.

The wizard murmurs ‘Zero, one…’
A spell, it seems, has just begun.’
And then he counts, ‘One, two and three…’
And branches spiral ‘round a tree.
He waves his wand and whispers, ‘Five…’
And honey bees fly from their hive.
‘Eight … thirteen…’ Moving slow,
A fern, uncurling, starts to grow.
And, with a ray from dawning sun,
The wizard whispers, ‘Twenty-one.’
His wand sweeps over forest floor.
He mutters, ‘Yes! Now thirty four…’

And as he moves on out of sight,
The forest floods with golden light.
A shoot climbs up from mossy bed.
A flower tosses back her head.

The wizard moves on, counting still,
And motes of magic spark and thrill.
With every Fibonacci number,
New forms waken from their slumber.

Spirals twist in pine cone scales
And pearly homes of seashell snails
New leaves open, stetch, unfurl.
The sunflower’s seedheads crowd and whirl.

Such wizardry! The magic spell
That curls the spiral of a shell.

About the Writer


Gaynor Andrews

Gaynor was a primary teacher for many years, teaching in schools across the UK, as well as Thailand and France. She now lives in the Scottish Highlands, writing educational resources by day and stories and poems by night. Gaynor loves the rhythm of language and she has a particular passion for rhyme. Her poetry has appeared in the Caterpillar magazine and her debut, rhyming picture book will be published in 2023/24.