PIet Hein's Grooks (#poem)

 

Nothing is Indispensable

(Grook to warn the universe against megalomania)

The universe may

be as great as they say.

But it wouldn't be missed

if it didn't exist.

Those Who Know

Those who always

know what's best

are

a universal pest.

Problems

Problems worthy of attack

prove their worth by hitting back.

 

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.

-Piet Hein

 

Piet Hein (1905-1996) was a Danish polymath (theoretical physics, city planning, inventor of the Soma Cube puzzle...) and like all Scandinavians, but especially the polymathic ones, was perfectly fluent in English. He wrote short, aphoristic poems he called grooks (gruk in Danish), a word he made up in both languages. The English versions were done with the assistance of Jens Arup. Martin Gardner in his Mathematical Games column was a huge fan, but do I remember reading about him in Scientific American when I was a nerdy eight-year-old? Not really...but I could have! (Since I was a nerdy eight-year-old, who got a subscription to Scientific American every Christmas.)

They often come with pictures:

Not all of these come from Grooks 2. There were at least six volumes in English (and more volumes in Danish) in the sixties and seventies.

One last...

 

What Love is Like

 

Love is like

a pineapple,

sweet and

undefinable.

-Piet Hein