finding spring

In this magic of spring, rainbows and pots of gold week, our poetry group focused on "found poetry." There are a variety of ways to find a poem. It's fun to flip through a book of poems and write down delicious words and phrases that pop out. Then try to arrange them, add your own thoughts and you have "found" a poem.

We grabbed a newspaper page and a magazine page. You'd be surprised what you can find in the classifieds. One ad for a lost cat started, "Answers to the name of Midnight." That's inspiration enough for me!

Scanning, we circled words and phrases, about twenty per page. After recording what we had found, our personalities took over. Some wanted to make order or meaning. These writers arranged, connected and added words to make sense. Others let the music of the words guide them. Their poems were more eclectic, and the sounds of the word groups were pleasing to the ear.

Here is my "found poem."

Hindsight

At Lumpkin’s Slave Jail, in a cobbled
courtyard, food is served round the clock
in memory of Mimi.
In Yellowstone where bison winter,
animals have been spotted. Yet,
they euthanized a newborn right whale
due to slumping ticket sales.
Particular angels can be seen reveling
downtown in a decade. Blind trust
dissolves. Taproots clatter.
Sheers of wind and breezes of change
are the cause. Can these bones live?
Breathe!
The fact of the finding is
hindsight comes easy.