Planes Trains and Automobiles

A found poem is a poem that presents itself to the poet. That means the poet sees a word, a phrase, or a sentence that sparks a poem. The poem usually takes that word, phrase, or sentence as its own. In any other kind of writing, that's called plagiarism. In poetry, it's called art.

 Kenneth Koch's poem is a found poem based on a sign he saw. The speaker tumbles from that sign to all other parts of life, discussing hidden aspects of life and the ones that shine through.

 Probably with this poem in mind, I saw a sign in a photograph my friend sent to me a few years back, and then wrote my own found poem:

 Active Railway  
Sign Beside The Rails Somewhere On The East Coast: Do Not Trespass: Walking Or Standing On This Bridge Exposes You To The Deadly Possibility Of Being Struck By A Fast Moving Train  

The boys put on their wetsuits. The law says they are men, but they have young hearts and minds set on jumping. They want the rush of the twenty foot drop. They want the thrill of a big splash. They want to play chicken on the tracks with the train at first and then with the third rail on the second dive, after they’ve been soaked through and climbed back up, having survived the first fall out.

 -- Christina M. Rau

This found poem is one of few prose poems I have written.

But back to Koch. His poem has no stanza breaks and the line lengths are pretty much the same throughout. Listen to his cadence as he reads. Notice where he breathes. Listen with your eyes closed. Then listen again as you read along. This experience in listening should offer some insight into what he was thinking as he wrote the poem.

Do Now:
Click Comments.  Discuss the way the poem sounds as well as it looks.  What do you think of found poetry? Sign your first name and last initial.