Poetry Scavenger Hunt: February 1-8, 2024
Throughout the week, take pictures of (or write down) words, phrases, or sentences you see or hear around you (on signs, in your mail, on a box you find at work, etc.). No cheating - these should be bits you actually encounter, not made up later to make the assignment easier! Using these random scraps of language, create an original poem.
The Submissions:
by Captain Quillard
I Could Be Fellow Men
All the homemade flights of virtuosity to country
seem unusually heavy
we warn and play with one and other in the
eye of the storm, digging the echolocation, sweep
side to side in modern moves and
instrumental extracts,
drunk with the flavor of the edible glitter that is love and its
affiliated laboratories of music and sound
it takes aim and a village,
sacrifice and collaboration to hold upright and keep it movin’, but
this goodness – the equipment to lift innocent hands – isn’t
available right now
the lid is right here - our best and our fire
prohibited by you -
a large conference of office typical men -
aggro, cold and ready to go - dangerous machines
that knuckle, punch, and squeeze the goodman
convinced there is no greater calling than an American fight,
gambling and taking
without consent
live entertainment and all u can eat at your fingertips
YOU decide if someone is legitimate - if there is
space available or if this door remains closed due to
colorimageclass
and misc. labels used to secure this property for you, the curator
keeping the careful movers under video surveillance
you call ahead orders – a boxed warning –
a new reminder of the binding machines and your
supreme presence
pouring all over with overwhelming interest
in your own genius, you know your status:
of superior composition - part of the God order -
a vessel of what is right
Not necessarily.
I may make this worse in my
moody tongue, but I will bring apricity beyond this point:
You are not complex.
to those who make the city shine, you are but
minor figures – draft content priced per pound
and malfunctioning material written with unoriginal premises -
a white copy
inspired by a family recipe - naturally essenced with the spectral alphabet of
your grand dad’s trash
your uncle’s trash
and no user-serviceable parts inside, or quality ingredients
to elevate your wellness
you are so small
where will u go next?
ask what you can and see what awaits you
but if the metric is to pull the emergency exit, to do
what is easy
you can
go without me
by Journal Kurtz
They see. They hear. They repeat.
They see ashes of old lovers wintering in difficult times.
They hear that there is
no expectation of privacy.
They repeat long intervals
of horrible sanity.
They see improper activity.
They hear the “probable cause”
standard does not apply.
They repeat, The world is a mess.
And here’s a picture of a tree.
by Heart of Darkness
I printed the first 50 emails in my inbox, did a little blackout poetry to give myself one word from each subject line, then constructed a poem about work from the resulting words.
by Anonymous Frau Redux
Some phrases and influences this week:
Whoever vs who cares GO BILLS!
Super Bowl
Taylor Swift
KC bs SF, rematch from 2020?!
Videos of Patrick Mahomes launching balls just like Uncle Rico from Napoleon Dynamite
Groundhog Day
Sunday soup or bowl
Whoever versus who cares
Red, white, blue- GO BILLS!
Not in it this year
Buffaloians take heart
Sit back, have a beer
See “Uncle Rico”
Spot Taylor’s dude down the field
Launches- lands again
Football Groundhog Day
Rematch of twenty-twenty
Players gonna play
I’m from Buffalo
BILLIEVE in wings, pizza, beer
Try again next year
Have a soup or bowl weekend. GO BILLS!
-Anon Frau Redux
Next Week’s Assignment:
Make your own pigment out of natural ingredients. Use it to draw, write, or paint something.