Direct from the Newspaper: An Experimental Poem

Once in a while this qwerki muser writes some poetry.  Sometimes he experiments with different forms.  As some of you may know, I often attend a writing workshop with Inlandia Institute in Ontario.  I am with a group of talented writers, many who have actually published and are known in the Inland Empire and beyond.  Being with them not only affirms my own aspirations to write, but also that I might have the ability to write well.

This is a poem I wrote this afternoon and submitted to the workshop members for critiquing this coming Wednesday.  I was reading the Sunday paper and different lines kept striking me as interesting or fun.  So I thought, perhaps I should see if I can cobble them together into a poem that actually makes a bit of statement of the current state of the world.  Just for fun...but who knows where it might go from here??  Let me know what you think!  

Please note: The brackets indicate my words as inserted. All other words and phrases are lifted directly from either the LA Times or the Riverside Press Enterprise.

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Mixing Travel and Business
A Cobbled Poem From Sunday Newspaper Scans


{Being} authentic in Jakarta
Modern buildings rise around the old core.
Vacationing? Protect your money. Protect your plastic.
Distrupted
Starting over
With the start-up culture {where} 
You are introduced to a blur of 
Ashleys, Amandas, Brittanys and Courtneys.
Dogs roam the hallways.
And you are expected to sit on a big rubber ball,
Orange of course.


{In Jakarta} a living statue will menace you 
For a small gratuity.
Cuisine at street stalls reflect a mix of cultures.


{As I scan} other writers have more eclectic inspirations and
End up with a hard to corral jumble.


{Sea-going tourists in} statement-making clothing 
Doesn’t do justice to watching gray whales as they spy-hop
And open their mouths to have their tongues scratched.


{Or in other places} finding the good in the Black Hills and Badlands,
...delighted to find the best parts were still the way I 
Remembered them.
Gorgeous scenery,
Heart stopping wildlife,
Laid-back, friendly people…
You’ll never forget the face, a colossal monument to Crazy Horse.
Will the work ever be complete?


{Moving on to the business section to scan:}
How new president may affect market. 
An expert predicts how stocks would perform under a
President Trump or President Clinton.


{Speculative reality spoils the fun}.