Found Poetry

I’ve thought about starting a blog for over a year now; mostly to have a place to explore writing.  Now I’m busier than ever: getting my Montessori Teaching Credentials and starting my Masters while my daughter is just a few weeks old (what am I doing to myself?).  But I also feel that this is the perfect time to work on my writing, perhaps because it is so busy, so full.  I cannot promise my entries will be timely, but I will do my best.  As I wrote in my journal a few days after Cora was born: I haven't had time to write about life, I am too busy living it, but here goes.

I have only written a few poems; and most of those when I was nine or ten.  Last night in my writing group we collectively wrote a found poem.  I enjoyed combing random, unrelated works for phrases and words to compile into something cohesive.  Here is what we came up with.

The Rattle Watch

Lifting the corner of the curtain

The pope did as others before him had done,

Crawled up with his bucket

-- Accumulated dirt of centuries  --

Embarrassed for all kinds of reasons.

The rattle watch was near at hand.

I drew nearer to the abyss.

Can this be dying?

Perhaps.

Coming nearer and nearer

Hanging out your lights --

Fools!

When I am not, what will there be?

God only knows,

I must calm myself - must think it all over from the beginning.

He sees this --

A white ribbon, serpenting from top to bottom

Written out in large clumsy letters

“Jesus Saves”.

Just that way, just there.

“Jesus Saves”.

--John, Rachel, Susie, Sue, Russ, Margaret, Gregg, Cindy