There's a Zelf on the Shelf and Other Hidden Poems

Take a look at your books, and what can you find?
I wonder if poetry comes to your mind.
No?

Look closely--look at the spines,
What stories emerge when you put them all in a line?

Book Spine Poetry: "The Lamplighter"

As I Lay Dying
in my Heart of Darkness,
The Lamplighter
Hangs a Thousand Trees with Ribbons.
what a Joyful Noise they make!
Atonement.

Care to give it a try?
Would you like to become a poet
in the blink of an eye?
Yes?
Take a look at your books. Browse. Peruse.
Collect all of the titles that you think you could use.
Then sort them by function--verbs, adjectives, nouns,
and start matching them up to see which ideas resound.
Add a word here, add a phrase there
to smooth out the sentences (some might call this cheating, but there's no need to care).

Voila!

Book Spine Poetry: "Walking Across Egypt"

Walking Across Egypt,
I watch as the House of Sand and Fog
becomes Hotel on the Corner of Bitter and Sweet;
The Stream and the Sapphire
Make a Scene,
calling for A Farewell to Arms--
Cry, the Beloved Country

You're a poet--and I bet you didn't even know it.
Happy National Poetry Month!