About Found Poems

Dear Readers,
Last week I published two found poems, “Humankind” and “Déjà vu.” In this post I would like to briefly explain what found poetry is and specifically how I put mine together. I am currently taking a poetry class and one of the poetic forms that we studied is found poetry. Simply, found poetry is made up of words that are found in the environment and then put together in poem form. What I did for my found poems was to pay attention to signs in my environment as I was out walking my errands. The title was inspired by a sign on a door on a medical place in old town called I saw “HumanKind.” “Please Travel at a Safe Speed,” is a sign out on “Spring Creek” walking trails. These two: Yield to Pedestrians and Yield to Oncoming Traffic, you’ll recognize as traffic signs. Eat fresh sautéed or grilled Noodles, is on the side of “Noodles” restaurant. Drink Coffee -Starbuck’s and Public Restrooms this Way are also self-explanatory.
The inspiration for the other poem’s title, “Déjà Vu,” is the name of one of my favorite coffee houses. Open, Close, No Checks and Cash or Credit Cards Only, are the signs that are in the windows of almost all businesses.