Poetry of the Month: Grooks
I am referring to Piet Hein, a Danish mathematician, scientist, inventor, and poet who created grooks, which is the name he made up for the short, rhyming, gnomic poems that he created so generously. There are 10,000 of them. They contain his whole philosophy, in manageable chunks. They have been compared to Biblical proverbs. Hein, not a modest man, felt that the grooks would be his legacy. He learned English and several other languages so that he could translate them himself. Whether you realize it or not, you’ve heard a grook, or even recited one. They’re everywhere, like dandelions. (Info taken from here)
Here's a sprinkling of some of his words of wisdom:
A Maxim for Vikings
Here is a fact
that should help you fight
a bit longer:
Things that don't actually kill you outright
make you stronger.
The Road to Wisdom
The road to wisdom? -- Well, it's plain
and simple to express:
Err
and err
and err again
but less
and less
and less.
Dream Interpretation
Everything’s either concave or -vex,
so whatever you dream will be something with sex.
T. T. T.
Put up in a place
where it's easy to see
the cryptic admonishment
T. T. T.
When you feel how depressingly
slowly you climb,
it's well to remember that
Things Take Time.
A PSYCHOLOGICAL TIP
Whenever you're called on to make up your mind,
and you're hampered by not having any,
the best way to solve the dilemma, you'll find,
is simply by spinning a penny.
No -- not so that chance shall decide the affair
while you're passively standing there moping;
but the moment the penny is up in the air,
you suddenly know what you're hoping.
MORE HASTE --
Inscription for a monument at the crossroads.
Here lies, extinguished in his prime,
a victim of modernity:
but yesterday he hadn't the time --
and now he has eternity.
A WORD TO THE WISE
Let the world pass in its time-ridden race;
never get caught in its snare.
Remember, the only acceptable case
for being in any particular place
is having no business there.
For more amusing grooks feel free to vist here. Happy reading!
Here's a sprinkling of some of his words of wisdom:
A Maxim for Vikings
Here is a fact
that should help you fight
a bit longer:
Things that don't actually kill you outright
make you stronger.
The Road to Wisdom
The road to wisdom? -- Well, it's plain
and simple to express:
Err
and err
and err again
but less
and less
and less.
Dream Interpretation
Everything’s either concave or -vex,
so whatever you dream will be something with sex.
T. T. T.
Put up in a place
where it's easy to see
the cryptic admonishment
T. T. T.
When you feel how depressingly
slowly you climb,
it's well to remember that
Things Take Time.
A PSYCHOLOGICAL TIP
Whenever you're called on to make up your mind,
and you're hampered by not having any,
the best way to solve the dilemma, you'll find,
is simply by spinning a penny.
No -- not so that chance shall decide the affair
while you're passively standing there moping;
but the moment the penny is up in the air,
you suddenly know what you're hoping.
MORE HASTE --
Inscription for a monument at the crossroads.
Here lies, extinguished in his prime,
a victim of modernity:
but yesterday he hadn't the time --
and now he has eternity.
A WORD TO THE WISE
Let the world pass in its time-ridden race;
never get caught in its snare.
Remember, the only acceptable case
for being in any particular place
is having no business there.
For more amusing grooks feel free to vist here. Happy reading!