ONE
full
of pissy vinegar
half
empty
bring on
the crocus
already
damnit!
Waiting...
for something.
Tip the Balance!
Hummingbirds
have arrived
in Texas, y'all!
Spring Goddess Yo!
Sweet water flow
TWO
back of my hand is
wrinkled
wow
I actually
Wrote something
Nothing to do but keep writing.
Always
optimistic
despite
genetically
inspired
pessimism.
thinking
in
the
bath
today
good
Hoping
For aChange
In Scenery
THREE
Beading
my
Heartsong
Red Shoes,
mindfully.
Self suffers absence of mutual respect
Longing for my lover, far away.
Sitting strangely silent at stone's throw
No regrets, because I keep trying
Precipice
tiptoe
widest
view
but
when.....
"If there is a heaven I'd like to spend it in her company.” FOUR
Pastrami on rye with mustard. Heaven!
BUT
New knee still hurts. Ouch. Ouch.
FIVE
Springtime madness brings memory of love
Debout, les damnes de la terre...
Wish I knew what to do.
Geraniums are blooming wildly in Benicia.
Oh, joy! Baseball season starts soon.
Weeds, beware! You are going down.
"Winter is finally melting away"
I found a green tomato today.
SIX
My cat likes his belly rubbed.
“Hope is a thing with Feathers”
SEVENDreams
are never
what they appear.
Jeweled
Turtle swims
In my hand.
EIGHT
How to get strong at my center?
Never worry what the critics think.
Critics: Everyone has opinions and assholes.
NINE
I heard a robin singing yesterday.
April showers come now to Brooklyn.
Life goes better with friendly hugs.
Green buds on my lilac tree.
Spring rain taps at my window.
Seeds, mulch and fragrant pine needles.
Although
Winter is not giving up easily.
TENHit road with guitar. Can't play.
Carlos Santana, I remember your face.
Small world, all interconnected, you know?
See you at the picture show.
ELEVEN
Typing all day scrambles the eyes
I knew this script was extraordinary
Seeking edgy depth of quirky characters
Twitter, Twitter, Twitter--
Plays getting littler!
TWELVE
The dog barks,
my daughters cry
Storm
Gone north
Small wind cries.
Nothing better than my dogs snoring.
THIRTEEN
My bread won't rise. dead yeast?
Groundhog on the roof. What next?
No one else can feed
hungry pages
FOURTEEN
mourning.
abandoned.
thick, intertwined roots.
transplanting.
kind words to say to me
“The good life is one inspired by love and guided by knowledge” -Bertrand Russell
FIFTEENSix word poem? Is it possible?
Now taking a short writing vacation.
Huge carpenter ants on my laptop
Ennui should be his middle name.
World,
Please slow down
For me
SIXTEENGray clouds hover, something green erupts.
Cool weather preceding summer sizzle.
Springtime mind fails to realize reality
In the recession, don't forget infinity.
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“A found poem is a piece of writing that was not intended as a
poem, but is declared so by its finder…the odd thing is how the found
words seem to take on an added power when removed from their original
context and presented alone…A found poem requires simply that you stay
alert to those exceptional uses of language…that create a poetic effect
of an emotional response as strong as that made by a poem…Writing a
found poem often requires creative skills similar to those used in the
actual creation of art.”
~from Handbook of Poetic Forms
The point of these found poems is the serendipitous way they have been
created. I have been taking the six words people sent to the ICWP
listserve about their life at that moment and (except in two cases) in
the order I receive them, I group them together to make a found poem. I also was very excited about all the congratulatory remarks ICWP
members made to Ellen…so I formed a poem using some of our words and
some of Ellen’s.
We invite everyone to take a
look at them. Find your six words and see how they have morphed into a
piece of found poetry during this April, National Poetry Month. Let me
know what you think!
The song of ellen: song of distinction
Come home to see this news…
Such fantastic news! What an achievement!
Add my hooray to the exuberant cheer!
I am really, really quite amazed.
And grateful.
And amazed some more
trying to take it all in
it all went very fast –
a
whirlwind!
I can't find enough superlative words
My goodness, this is great news
I knew this script was extraordinary
May this award open all kinds of doors for your work
Your words sing,
you work so diligently on your messages.
We're all sooo proud of you.
Here's hoping our Ellen helps change.
Showing that
woman playwrights
won’t be singing
the Song of Extinction
They will be writing and producing it.
Maureen Brady Johnson
Posted April 14, 2009
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