Sara and I always enjoyed our poetry writing prompts. I believe we might have even shared a writing class or two back in college.

Today’s assignment in her book The 30 Day Writing Challenge is to create what’s called a Found Poem. Basically, you take phrases from any source (book, magazine, poetry, commercials, blog posts, etc.), remove the context, and put together a brand new poem. The point is to alter or enhance these sentences that were intended for another purpose.

“Write a found poem no more than 1 page in length using text from another source such as a magazine article, a book, a webpage, a blog post, etc.”

You can find poetry anywhere.

My source, since I’m at work and can’t use work documents for anything (we follow the rules here), I’m going to use the only book on my desk, The Complete Sherlock Holmes.

This came out way more fanfic than intended. Again, unedited.

***

There can be no question as to their nature

I saw
in the gaslight that Holmes wore
an amused smile at this brilliant departure of mine.
He, heartily, as my friend.

There was no chance of either of us forgetting that peculiar ruddy tweed suit.

He sat
with his mouth full of toast
and his eyes sparkling with mischief –
watching my intellectual entanglement.

My mind is like a racing engine,
tearing itself to pieces

“Well, Watson,
what do you make of this?”

You arouse my curiosity

It was a prosaic way of forming a friendship
but it was effective.
Here was one of my fixed points secured.
It’s not easy to express the inexpressible.

221B Baker Street
He is off duty now.
A seven-percent solution.

RACHE

“Come along, Doctor.”
We are both brain workers.
You worked a love story
into the fifth proposition of Euclid.