I have NEVER done “Found Poetry,” nor have I ever attempted chiasmus as a device, although I knew of it, and had encountered it. It seems that these days I’m doing things that I’ve never attempted. In any case, today’s (Day 6) assignment, in brief, was:
Create a “found poem”
Make it about “faces”
Use “chiasmus.”
I’ve typed up the text of my found poem, which I assembled from tea-bag covers, junk mail, an art catalogue, and a plastic bread-bag. Not having a working camera currently, I took an awkward picture with my MacBook Pro’s PhotoBooth. So, the picture below looks, let’s face it, bad and blurry. However, I shall remedy that when I can get a clearer image with a working camera. In any case, here’s the image, and then, my typed-up text below it, for those who cannot discern the words.
(Oh, and I was thrilled to FIND my chiasmus in the process of looking for words! The first line occurs on line 10 (after the heading, which is “Not When Pigs Fly”): The Power of each woman’s face. The second part of the chiasmus occurs as the punchline, the end: “Face each woman’s POWER.”)
Here’s the poem, in its entirety:
Not When Pigs Fly
©October 12th, 2015
By Vijaya Sundaram
We are women —
Friends of the earth,
Hope,
The People,
wise,
The Majority.
We shall converge on LITTLE DREAMS,
GIVE Clarity.
No Blisters.
Guaranteed.
VISIONS OF THE UNCANNY —
THE POWER OF each woman’s face
EXHIBITS passion,
SUPPORTS MEMORY.
SURVIVING THE ELEMENTS,
ULTRA CONCENTRATED,
OUR MUSIC ROLLS ON.
WE ARE PEACE.
WE ARE the Earth.
face each woman’s POWER!