Found poetry

Poetry. The mere word evokes rhythm and emotion. Sensuous, frivolous, silly, strong, captivating. Poetry is part of life and not often read. Yet, I have found myself looking for poetry in the unexpected. For the past few months, I have looked for poetry in road signs, in journals, in newspaper headlines and in e-mails. And, I have found that poetry does appear where least expected. Just last weekend, I found a bulletin board full of actual poems outside a public washroom. Some of the poems were serious; others were limericks.

I believe that I am looking for poetry, without picking up a book, because poetry implies flow. Mihaly Csíkszentmihályi writes about flow in stern almost academic prose. His writing is not poetry but his ideas about flow are. In an interview, Csíkszentmihályi described flow as "being completely involved in an activity for its own sake. The ego falls away. Time flies. Every action, movement, and thought follows inevitably from the previous one, like playing jazz. Your whole being is involved, and you're using your skills to the utmost." To achieve a flow state, a balance must be struck between the challenge of the task and the skill of the performer. If the task is too easy or too difficult, flow cannot occur."

That every action, movement and thought follows from the previous one is the appeal of found poetry to me. Not all poems have flow but many words and thoughts printed in ordinary prose become poetic when flow is present. The melody is there, and resonance, and message. Poetry is individual and authentic. It is part of life. Poetry helps communicate and define emotion: joy, catharsis, anger, fear, love. Language alone is not a bridge to channel feelings from one person to another. Language, turned to poetry, is the bridge. For poetry to flow, the challenge for the writer is the careful selection of words and the challenge for the reader is skillful interpretation.

I am looking for poetry because I am looking for truth and beauty. Finding poetry, where unintended, requires me to use my my aptitude for language to my utmost. Finding poetry is part of my path.