An experiment.
 

Take a book you love and, closing your eyes, flip the pages and place your finger somewhere on the page.....take a word or a phrase from that line. Repeat until you have a poem:)

Here's mine. Taken from Revelation by Carol Berg:

Judgement
Judgement. No, you’re wise,
Said Merryt.
Jumble, every once a while.
As we drank chamomile.

When we were called,
Back inside.
For sanctuary, as he claims,
Nothing was that easy.

Any message, asking for
Forgiveness.
Nothing of Fiona, spat,
Is it not wonderful?

Who carried this kind of,
Demon?
He handed me another
As I dragged myself towards.

I’d come to think you felt no,
Distractions,
Still too far. Who could value,
The shape of the penetrating wind?

why?

Hahaha. Good question. For fun. To see if what comes out scans in anyway.

From The Bridge by Iain Banks

A(bridge)D

"Just you shut the fuk up"
But the rok comes rollin
She is sitting sideways on a seat
The Field Marshall's quarters; an old study

Climb the highest dune
See this fox hole?
Study drawing and painting
For longer than I care to think about

Holding a black hat in one hand
He bought a Toyota MR2
Scattering people to either side
Not a boat, the rocking's damped

"Aw wait a fukin minnit!"
I am lying on the ground
an it sits on ma showdder
Exploded through the great pipes

"I would like to see Dr Joyce"
Some complicated mechanism
He did tell Andrea
Sticking my head through the broken pane

Perhaps not an ideal choice of book, as there are sections written in dialect as well as fantasy/ dream sequences. But it was that or random phrases from the Royal Pharmaceutical Society's Guidance on Child Protection, which I am ostensibly working on tonight!

I didn't add any grammar - it stands or falls exactly as written in the book.

Awesome! I thought that worked better than the one I did actually. And I think it's a great choice of book. Mind you, The Bridge is one of my all time favourite books:P

What's also interesting is: I did that whilst I was ostensibly working on an essay about medieval heresy......and the only other person to have a bash so far is someone who is ostensibly working on the Royal Pharmaceutical Society's Guidance on Child Protection....hmmm. Maybe I should have entitled this thread 'An experiment to try whilst you are ostensibly working on something else'....:P

AKA - Something for people with books to hand and fried brain cells

*grins* yes.....that'll do nicely

He would rather sing another time
So don't make yourself uneasy
And so you're glad to leave me
Pilot would have been

Half wild with delight when she saw me
pushed unceremoniously to one side
It was half dream, half reality
Is the nurse here?

From Jane Eyre.

This worked out great...sorry it's so short, but I thought it was perfect with the last line!

Fabulous! that really works.

DanaC...wish more people would try this. I think it's great. I just re-read mine and I think I will print it...just works so great.

It really is amazing the stuff that occurs to you when you are 800 words into a 2500 word essay:P

From The Palace of Heavenly Pleasure, by Adam West

Pleasure Heads West

Monkey's just one of the gods
You may be surprised
Ladies are supposed to be virgins
But I am not disheartened

Septimus Millward stood erect
The man he had trusted since he arrived
She was only aware of her own body
"I'm a Judas," he whispered

A criminal? A gun-runner?
"Does it shock you?" he asked
So pale and rapt in concentration
Flags and a beard and a painted face.

(see drawing at left)

the stone would be seen much more closely
because mortar is in the head joints
as with other types of plank siding
because a primary mark indicates a door or window
we mark the cut with the siding held in place

Once I've determined my layout
if your siding continues beyond your roof's eave

yeah yeah

Not doin' it... it will stick and ruin my book for me.
Sounds like a cool idea for people that can shake it.

Can't read some of my favorite poems now because of the whole "Yellow Rose of Tex" thing.

Wow! :p