Finding treasure in the slow hours

Work days have been slow. Excruciatingly so. I've found myself reading random snippets of news. Searching unknown poets. Researching odd topics. Today, I found myself reading children's stories from an old book on Google books.

I've never got into "creating" found poetry. To me, found poetry just seems to be the art of extreme editing rather than writing. Chopping away every ounce of fat from the words of previous writers to boil down the story into a pure, concise form. For this, though, it seems useful. One thing I've always had trouble with, and I'm sure most writers do, is knowing when to cut the fat from your work. Our words are our children and butchering them is never easy.

Below are a few "found" poems from the day's boredom.

Wolf and Lamb Wolf lapping running brook, stray Lamb paddling distance down seize her, he bethought how he might justify violence “Villian,” said he. “you muddle water” Lamb, humbly, “water runs from you to me” “you called me ill names” trembling, “a year ago, I was not born” “that is all the same; it's no use to argue” he fell upon helpless Lamb tore her to pieces

Two Packs every man carries two packs one in front, one behind full of faults front holds people's faults behind, his own men do not see their own but very clearly the faults of others

Lion in Love Lion in love with Woodman's daughter, wanted to marry begged him to give the maid Woodman could not think of such a thing Lion roar furiously, and father, in great fright, bethought a way I cannot give my daughter unless you first have your teeth & nails drawn desperately in love, he consented when it was all over, asked again for the girl Woodman, no longer any fear, drove him off with jeers

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Each of these were extracted from stories in an 1881 printing of The Children's Book: A Collection of the Best and Most Famous Stories and Poems. I found it here on Google books. I'm not sure how often I'd venture into the "found" poetry practice, but it helped to pass some time and make me consider editing and word choice.

I'd suggest trying it if you're a writer. You may find it helpful or, at the very least, entertaining. Share some found poetry in the comments section if you'd like. See what you can come up with.


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