I am learning to fine-tune my ability to see and pay attention. In a world of deadlines and urgent appointments, beeping phones, alerting messages and distracting advertisements, I need practices that slow me down and help me see anew in the most familiar of places.  

On the daily walk to school, on a routine path, my children and I practice the playful art of Found Poetry.

On the daily walk to school, on a routine path, my children and I practice the playful art of Found Poetry. We attend to every sign and pick out the “juicy” words that “pop.” From this playful act of seeing with my children, we create something new– a found poem: 

A human needs play 
the arch collective 
story: your community 
grows One Hope 
toward justice love and wholeness 
here! all are open 
Make Music 
Celebrate Worlds 
Free 

Here are the signs that formed our poem, written in their entirety, with the bolded words of the poem highlighted:  

Housing is a human right 
 
We need just cause 
Play is the highest form of research 
Collective power fund 
The conservatory: your community art and yoga studio 
Come grow with us 
One way 
Columbia City Church of Hope 
Growing together toward justice love and wholeness 
Superheroes work here! Thanks for all you do 
We are open for take out and delivery orders  
Make Music South Seattle 
Celebrating the worldwide holiday of music in Columbia city 
Free 

The gift and gravity of working with found poetry is that many different poems can emerge depending on the lens of the Finder-Poet. The one who sees takes and shapes the words through the prism of their own perspective. I take on the lens of artist and come up with a completely different poem 

sing human needs
 
the highest form  
of collective power:  
 
your community grows  
hope together  
 
toward justice love  
and wholeness  
 
work here!  
pen tales  
make music  
celebrate 
be

Housing is a human right 
We need just cause 
Play is the highest form of research 
Collective power fund 
The conservatory: your community art and yoga studio 
Come grow with us 
Columbia City Church of Hope 
Growing together toward justice love and wholeness 
Superheroes work here! Thanks for all you do 
We are open for take out and delivery orders  
Make Music South Seattle 
Celebrating the worldwide holiday of music in Columbia city 
Free 

Paying attention is an act of love. I consider yet another perspective, rearranging the signs from last to first. This time, yet another poem comes together. The lens I adopt is one of advocacy and I see a need for housing reform:  

Free Columbia City
 
Make South Seattle open 
for elders here! 
 
You grow together 
whole hope way. 
 
Come with 
The story:  
 
Your community collectively  
needs housing 

Here is how this poem was formed:

Free 
Celebrating the worldwide holiday of music in Columbia City 
Make Music South Seattle 
We are open for take out and delivery orders  
Superheroes work here! Thanks for all you do 
Growing together toward justice love and wholeness 
Columbia City Church of Hope 
One way 
Come grow with us 
The conservatory: your community art and yoga studio 
Collective power fund 
Play is the highest form of research 
We need just cause 
Housing is a human right 

Found poetry does not require you to be a trained poet. Rather, it is training your eyes to see and pay attention to the nuances of your community, to the voices, to the action, to the beauty, to the pain, and then inviting you to create using your own unique lens.  

Here are a few suggestions for collecting words for your neighborhood found poetry: 

• Take a neighborhood walk for 5-10 minutes 
• Take photographs of signs that catch your attention in some way (perhaps they pique your curiosity, perhaps they make you angry, perhaps they speak to your heart).  
• Be open to a variety of signs and messages 
• Write out the words of each sign on a piece of paper and begin to play with the words 

A few guidelines for playing with words and trying to find a poem: 

• Highlight, underline, circle words that “pop” or that seem especially “juicy” 
• Ask yourself: what do you see? What voices do you hear? How do these words make you feel?  
• See if you see any stories or images rising to the surface 
• Be open to surprise:
  • rearrange the phrases into a different order 
  • ask someone else to join you and see the different directions the poetry takes 
• Have fun exploring, wondering and paying attention 
• Feel free to use parts of words or single letters to help with the grammar/structure 
• Don’t force anything 
• Let the poem unfold and surprise you 
• And finally… enjoy the process!