This might be the dying gasp of Shadowards.
Six or seven years ago I came across the Found Poem phenomenom. A couple years later I was reading Anne Frank's diary (sounds so prurient to say that) and decided to take some of her phrases and craft them together. This is what I came up with.
Words Arranged from Anne Frank’s Diary
"Ich danke dir fur all das Gote und Liebe und Shone" -Anne Frank
I take a leisurely look
at the person called "Anne Frank"
and browse through the pages of her life
as though she were a stranger.
I feel like a songbird
whose wings have been ripped off
and who keeps hurling itself
against the bars of its dark cage.
I think spring is inside me.
Why shouldn’t we kiss each other
in times like these?
I’m longing–
really longing for everything.
Jews and Christians alike are waiting,
the whole world is waiting
and many are waiting for death.
Peter said, "the Jews have been
and always will be
the chosen people."
Anne said, "Just this once, I hope
they’ll be chosen for something good."
An empty day, though clear and bright,
Is just as dark as any night.
I think spring is inside me.
We still love life
we haven’t yet forgotten the voice of nature,
and we keep hoping,
hoping for
everything.
I don’t think building sandcastles in the air
is such a terrible thing to do
as long as you don’t take it too
seriously. I think spring is inside me.
It’s easier to whisper your feelings
than to shout them from the rooftops.
But where there’s hope, there’s life.
I think spring is inside me.
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2 comments:
i really like this one rems. is the whole thing found, including the first stanza?
the "spring inside me" repetition was great (especially coupled with the bird image), though i'm not sure if having it 3 times, and then as the last line isn't a little too insistant. maybe cut the last line. the impact was strong the third time, felt redundant the fourth. nevertheless, very enjoyable. thanks for posting it.
i love found poems: annie dillard has some excellent ones (i was just reading some of her stuff tuesday: Bivouac is still as weird as ever). inspired to try it myself, but a few other projects to finish first.
here's hoping this site doesn't die: i have several poems in the works, just won't have time to finish them until the trimester is over (another week).
- ben
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