17
$\begingroup$

Rarely you may think I'm seen
Often, though, can I be found
You can find me in the falls
Glowing well above the ground
Bending beauty in the sky
Interesting to the eye
Varied light waves arching high

What does this little poem describe?

This is not intended to be very difficult. I get bored in meetings and like to make up puzzles to keep awake. This little riddle is one of those.

|improve this question
$\endgroup$
  • $\begingroup$ Fairly simple, but it's a cute riddle! $\endgroup$ – Deusovi♦ Apr 27 '16 at 17:55
  • $\begingroup$ Richard of York gave battle in vain, nice. $\endgroup$ – Jonathan Allan Apr 27 '16 at 18:13
  • 4
    $\begingroup$ Yay! the first riddle I was able to get on this site without cheating through the spoilers $\endgroup$ – Digital Trauma Apr 27 '16 at 19:28
  • 1
    $\begingroup$ Possible duplicate (and spoiler). (I'm joking of course) $\endgroup$ – Alconja Apr 28 '16 at 5:58
15
$\begingroup$

Rainbow

Because

ROYGBIV (the first letters of each line) is the acronym for the colors of a rainbow red orange yellow green blue indigo violet

Also clues hint toward something rare and off the ground, but can be seen in many other circumstances.
Particular clues that stand out are "bending beauty in the sky" "glowing well above the ground" and "varied light waves" which varied light waves grants the different colors.

Can be seen in water falls.

Iris is the goddess of the rainbow (credit to @f")

|improve this answer
$\endgroup$
  • 4
    $\begingroup$ In Greek mythology, Iris is the goddess of the [answer]. $\endgroup$ – f'' Apr 27 '16 at 18:24
  • $\begingroup$ @f'' Colorful part of the eye! Nice! ... Wait... $\endgroup$ – SendersReagent Apr 27 '16 at 18:27
  • $\begingroup$ Personally, I'd give this one the tick because despite being answered a little later, it included more detail earlier and notes the acrostic. $\endgroup$ – feelinferrety Apr 27 '16 at 22:32
  • $\begingroup$ @feelinferrety Yeah, but what if it's not right? $\endgroup$ – SendersReagent Apr 27 '16 at 22:52
  • $\begingroup$ @SendersReagent if it's right, Mr. Pedantic. :P *Edit to above: "Given the choice between this one and LearningPhase, personally..." $\endgroup$ – feelinferrety Apr 28 '16 at 0:23
11
$\begingroup$

Is it a

Rainbow

  1. We usually/rarely see rainbow in the rainy season

  2. Not sure

  3. It can be seen in the water falls

  4. It's can be seen above the ground

  5. With the rainbow the sky looks beautiful

  6. Once we see a rainbow we kind of like it, amuses our eyes especially kids.

  7. As it have different (varied) colors in it which can be see waving towards the sky

|improve this answer
$\endgroup$
  • $\begingroup$ I downvoted since there was originally no explanation. $\endgroup$ – Deusovi♦ Apr 27 '16 at 18:57
2
$\begingroup$

Is it

Aurora

Rarely you may think I'm seen

Relatively rare phenomenon

Often, though, can I be found

Yes, often auroras can be found in the north

You can find me in the falls

When the nights grow longer, there is more time for auroras to dance

Glowing well above the ground

They happen in the sky

Bending beauty in the sky

They are very pretty

Interesting to the eye

They change as you watch

Varied light waves arching high

Not all the colors are the same

|improve this answer
$\endgroup$
  • $\begingroup$ So the "ROYGBIV" is a coincidence? $\endgroup$ – SendersReagent Apr 27 '16 at 21:01
1
$\begingroup$

The visible light spectrum

I think this is the actual answer because:

As many have noticed, rainbow seems to fit, but technically a rainbow is only in the sky and due to rain and other water droplets in the atmosphere. So it would technically be the continuous visible light spectrum from red to violet.

Rarely you may think I'm see, often though can I be found

Many people (children would make up a big portion of this) think that refracted light in the form of "ROYGBIV" is only seen in rainbows, but really, you can see it from refraction through many things. Sprinkler, prism, etc.

You can find me in the falls

Can be seen in waterfalls due to refraction of white light by water droplets

Glowing well above the ground

Well, refraction isn't actually due to the water glowing, but it gets the point across.

Bending beauty in the sky

Rainbow is an example of the refraction spectrum of white light, in which case it's an arch in the sky.

Interesting to the eye

Uses all the colors we can see.

Varied lightwaves arching high

See "Bending beauty" above.

Lastly,

ROYGBIV, as noted by Z. Dailey. Also, if you're actually an engineer (as your name suggests), there is a good chance you, like I, would get pedantic about minor discrepancies like this when it comes to physical phenomena.

|improve this answer
$\endgroup$

Your Answer

By clicking “Post Your Answer”, you agree to our terms of service, privacy policy and cookie policy

Not the answer you're looking for? Browse other questions tagged or ask your own question.