Verbatim found poetry is an intriguing collection of found poems. Poems found in ordinary, and not so ordinary places. Submit yours.
Look over there!…An antelope…
BANG…
Monkey!!
BANG…
Snakes!
BANG!
…stupid crocodiles?
BANG!
…a lion??
BANG!
…why not rabbits?
BANG!
…an elephant
BANG!
Come on if you dare, mighty buffalo!
BANG! BANG!
Grrr! That’s us. Bold as brass. Keen as mustard.
(Lines from Tintin in the Congo. Submitted by Cathy Barber)
Catch in the wire rib
tie in the tails and bind down the loose ends
then trim, wax the thread to form
a tapered noodle of dubbing (in this case, hare).
Wind the dubbed thread to form the tapered body, then
take the rib forwards in evenly spaced wraps
catch in the Partridge feather by the tip
and wind the hackle.
One or two turns will suffice.
(Instructions from fly fishing teacher Dave Wiltshire. Submitted by Sarah Watkinson)
Steven Seagal is A Good Man. Steven Seagal is A Dangerous Man.
Steven Seagal is The Patriot. Steven Seagal is The Foreigner. Steven Seagal is The Keeper.
Steven Seagal is Pistol Whipped. Steven Seagal is Submerged.
Steven Seagal is Submerged 2.
Steven Seagal is Out of Reach, Steven Seagal is Out for Justice, Steven Seagal is Out for a Kill.
(Out for Justice? Steven Seagal is a Mercenary for
Justice.)
(Out for a Kill? Steven Seagal is Driven to Kill.
Steven Seagal is Hard to Kill.)
Steven Seagal is The Glimmer Man. Steven Seagal is the Shadow Man.
Steven Seagal is A Dangerous Man. Steven Seagal is A Good Man.
Steven Seagal is My Giant.
Steven Seagal is A Good Man.
(Steven Seagal film titles from movie posters. Submitted by Daniel Galef)
Body collapsing in on itself
A bowed head
Shoulders curling over chest
Angling torso away from others
Uncontrollable shuddering or shivering
Hair hanging in face, hiding the eyes
A downward gaze
A flushed face
Hitching chest
Eyes dull, lifeless
Pulling down a shirt hem
Hands clutching at stomach
Covering face with hands
Bottom lip or chin trembling
Whimpering
Throat bobbing
Arms falling to sides, lifeless
Uncontrolled tears
Flinching from noise or from being touched
Huddling, crouching
Neck bending forward
Movement is slow, jerky
Knees locked tight together
Cold sweat
Stumbling, staggering
Backing up against a wall
Sliding into a corner
Hiding
Hands gripping elbows
Pigeon toes
Sobs trapped in throat
Drawing knees up to the body’s core
Wrapping arms around self
Runny nose
(From The Emotion Thesaurus: A Writer’s Guide to Character Expression, page 90. Submitted by J.R. Solonche)
A false alarm,
caught in the act:
A joke on me,
my peculiar mistake.
The stalled car,
my experience
in a strange Sunday school.
The experiment I never repeated,
nearly on the rocks.
(Essay writing prompts from ‘English Composition Book One’ by Stratton D. Brooks, 1911. Submitted by Alex Albright)
I’m at home all by my lonesome,
reading and waiting a little while
before I brush my teeth
and go to bed.
I could go for some conversation
if you’re interested.
Don’t much have
a particular topic in mind.
I worked ten hours today
and ate Taco Bell for dinner.
Do you like stuff?
Do you hate stuff?
Things? Place, people, ideas?
For/against any topic?
Want to discuss
the weather?
I’m all eyes for what you have to say.
Hope to hear from you.
(From Craigslist Strictly Platonic, 23 December 2014. Submitted by Erica Tucker)
A bead of sweat rolls down my face;
I am struck by the silence. The air
is hushed and filled with concentration.
On the banks of the Lakshya
master weavers sit in pairs, barely breaking
sweat at their bamboo looms.
The men are shirtless. The women rest
their arms on cheap white cotton,
protecting the delicate muslin.
Hands interlace silky gold thread
into sheer cloth the colour of oxblood.
Around us turquoise, yellow and white billows
in the breeze that – like a cool blessing –
comes off the river through latticed bamboo walls.
Motifs – jasmine, marigolds, peacock feathers –
neither embroidered nor printed,
are painstakingly sewn by hand.
Children of the loom, taught by their fathers:
strong backs and magic fingers. Dedication.
(From The delicate material that takes months to weave by hand. Submitted by Angi Holden)
Just when we thought some
of the old annoyances
of the 20th century
had died out, they come
roaring back
new,
improved,
upgraded,
and intensified like the government
dug up their corpses
and stuffed them with hydraulics
and, like, RAM sticks
and shit, and turned
them into deadly cybernetic warriors.
They didn’t die.
They were waiting.
They were adapting.
They. Were. Evolving.
They’ve returned,
fortified by modern technology,
designed to annoy us anywhere,
everywhere,
and at the convenience of
the person who wants to annoy us.
(From 4 Obnoxious Behaviors The Modern World Made Worse. Submitted by Kenn Merchant)
To integrate into society
The difficulties of adapting
A kind deed
To exploit
To take advantage of
To belong to
To be a part of
A war
An opposing argument
A profit
A benefit
To educate
(Translations from a French class vocabulary list. Submitted by Mim Beech)
Brushes the wool smoothly sift,
full is not tightly easy
to fall off wool,
bright, rich, the touch is gentle
may with ease brush the cosmetics
evenly frivolous
naturally has just right.
The color nature easy to stick
to the silt, but sweeps the powder
evenly, lasting durable,
with the flesh close-fitting,
makeup effects on a more refined
and delicate, presents the perfect
tidal current cosmetics.
(Blurb on retractable makeup brush packaging from China. Submitted by Cathy Bryant)
Verbatim Poetry 
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