Found Poetry

 

According to Wikipedia – that indispensable fount of knowledge – “Found Poetry is a type of poetry created by taking words, phrases, and sometimes whole passages from other sources and reframing them as poetry (a literary equivalent of a collage) by making changes in spacing and lines, or by adding or deleting text, thus imparting new meaning.”

When I was taking Introduction to Creative Writing 101 about ten years ago, one of our homework assignments was to write a Found Poem. Imagine my surprise (when spring cleaning my office closet several weeks ago) I “found” my Found Poetry. And the themes seem so relevant:

Football Finale:

Every cult – every culture – needs its symbol.

Its priest, its holy places,football

Its icons, its laws and its gods.

The NFL furnishes them all.1

If it weren’t for the Super Bowl

Americans couldn’t read Roman numerals

or know that three feet make a yard.2

But then, without the Scots

capitalism and antibiotics

wouldn’t exist. Worse yet – no television.3

1 – Arizona Republic, “A Game of Gods”
2 – Arizona Republic, “Final Score: Super Bowl is lesson in math and humanities”
3 – Wall Street Journal – Advertisement for Scottish Development International

 

February Politics

Political junkies are much like football junkies.

Every four years we

extrapolate and prognosticate the dramapolitics1

that could emerge and,

more often than not, we are disappointed.4

But then, rough water is not the place

to check to see whether

you packed your life preserver.5

4 – Arizona Republic – “Quotable Notables”
5 – Arizona Republic – “Think, don’t just cut, in tough times”

 

February Body Parts

Comforts a little. Comforts a lot.

Minute Clinic. Back to Better. Quicker.6

Telomeres act like plastic capshuman-body

on shoe laces, preventing DNA from unraveling.7

The personal performance pulse monitor shows

a pulsating heart as you perspire your way

to a healthier you.8

What time weakens, nature can strengthen.9

It can add years to your life.10

Mighty Putty – might handy

Fix it fast and make it last.11

6 – Arizona Republic Advertisement

7 – Arizona Republic – “Exercise Slows Aging”

8 – Arizona Republic – “Personal observations”

9 – Arizona Republic – “Some hairs just stop growing”

10 – Arizona Republic – “Incredible India”

11 – Arizona Republic – Advertisement – Mighty Putty