Math for Poets Collection

The Pythagorean Theorem

Consider a triangle,
        with one angle right.
Construct three more just like it,
        all equal by sight.
Arrange them into a square,
        long sides in middle,
shorter sides on the outside,
        long next to little.
Diagram showing arrangement of triangles
As area of the whole
        is sum of the parts,
so the triangle and square
        which long sides demark
are equal in area
        to the square outside.
Thus yielding the conclusion
        which can't be denied
that the hypot'nuse's length,
        upon being squared,
equals the sum of squared lengths
        of the shorter pair.
Algebraic expansion of text
 ca. 1990