Found Poems

Write a poem!

1. Choose words and phrases in a book.
2. Rearrange them until they create a surprising poem.

        Abduction
      In the dead of night,
          The abduction took place.
           She was in serious trouble,
               Snatched from her own bedroom.
           We may have a problem.
                    (by Riley from Theodore Boon: The Abduction)
“Stay.”
With that one word,
He swallows the emotion and pushes it forward.
“There’s no word for what happens to you”, 
“There’s no good side of it”.
His voice cracks and an avalanche of tears tumbles down his face. 
I close my eyes;
I cover my ears;
I cannot hear this.
(by Neve from If I Stay by Gayle Forman)

Hope
We want you back.
It was all too puzzling,
too difficult to understand.
We were prisoners,
running,
screaming,
sobbing terror.
And in the dream.
you took us by the hand.
Our last hope.
(by Delainey from Shadow by Michael Morpurgo)

  Trigger

Sweet. Perfect.

Like a cool breeze on a hot day.

I duck into the van, grab a handful of

ice-cream bars and ice-cream sandwiches. I’m

jumping down out of the van. Man steps

 into the alley. I realize who it is.

 I start to run but he’s fast and

he grabs me. His face

changes. He pulls

the trigger.

(by Chris Moon from Bang by Norah McClintock)

 They climbed four steps of stairs,
each one
narrower.
A flicker of light behind the darkness.
He screamed.
(by Deven from The Mystery of The Midnight Ghost by Helen Moss)

 …

Some days, like today.
I can’t stop thinking about her.
She always laughed at my jokes.
She always sang to me.
She always was smiling.
Now, I’m alone.
(by Kieren Lamboo from Locomotion by Jacqueline Woodson)

We came up from the subway.

I looked up and saw the World Trade Center.

It dominated the sky.

We went up to my father’s office

I looked out the window.

A thunderous explosion filled the sky

( By Jace from We All Fall Down by Eric Walters)

“Outsider.”
“You’ll never fit in.”
I didn’t want everyone to think
my sister was a loser.
I was the outsider,
the one who was different from
everybody else.
I needed to be far away from
everything.
I didn’t want to cry any more.
(by Jade from The Scribbler of Dreams by Mary Pearson)

Entering the World of Adulthood
I know I was right…
I was wrong,
I’ll be more careful,
I’ll know better,
I’m sure now…
(by Adrien from The Outsiders by S.E Hinton)

 Life
When did it all change?
I wish I was 10 again
or 25.
I’ll be on my own soon,
and I am not sure what matters anymore.
(by Brianna from Life Strategies for Teens by Jay McGraw)

I was tired and hungry.
I ran past crowded cafes and streets,
alone with no one to protect me.
I didn’t know if I was nearing the end of my journey,
or I was just beginning.
I was risking my life
to find a friend.
(by Jade R from Looking For X by Deborah Ellis)


Seriously,
who could relax during a hockey game?
I’d play hockey every second of every day,
It is fantastic!
It is my favourite thing to do.
If I wasn’t playing,
I was practicing,
or watching it,
or reading about it.
(by Bradley from Line Change by W.C. Mack)

A New Crispin
Lost now found
Isolated now free
Worried now safe
Something now someone
Sad now glad
Hungry now full
Dirty now clean
Cold now warm
This is Crispin’s life
(Jake J.)

I pedaled towards the cafe,
I felt as if I had stolen something from him.
I rode as if I had passed into Never-Never Land.
Nothing made sense,
Except that my friend was dead.
(by Kobe from The Blue Helmet)

Poor Child
He lay helpless on the ground,
good soul he was
Casting eyes to Heaven,
To the grave with the dead.
(by Roshan from Tales of Don Quixote by Miguel De Cervantes)

Death
I am about to die.
I walked forward expressionlessly.
Is this what death is?
A flash of green light blinded me.
Then blissful nothingness.
(by Donovan from Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows)

Where Am I?
              Before she could pass out,
          she said,”I want to see everything.”
They tossed her, gasping and shivering, onto the shore.
           Annabeth’s expression was pained.
               “I’m sorry,” she said.
           (by Kelvin from The Lost Hero by Rick Riordan)

Open your eyes:
I looked.
I finally saw something.
There it is,
Mine.
There were times I thought
      It is a good day to die.
      And now,
      I smile.
(by Jordyn from Alexandria from Africa by Eric Walters)


To her horror,
the black shape came closer,
a wolf by his side.
There was nowhere to run.
(by Donovan from Magyk by Angie Sage)

Trouble
Homer always seemed to be in trouble.
He seemed a serious guy,
then he grinned and laughed.
He started to look a bit embarrassed.
He looked like he was in trouble.
(by Dallas from Tomorrow When the War Began)

My Speech
I swallowed;
I made an impatient gesture;
I paused dramatically.
They gave him quiet satisfaction.
Some had realized the extent of his talent.
(by David from The Golem’s Eye by Jonathan Stroud)

Beauty
There were distant voices,
flourishing, like she was.
The song of rain.
It was a lonely place
at sunset.
(by Aaron from The Bomb by Theodore Taylor)

As the bus pulled away, Cara looked over.
Her mother scanned the patchwork newspaper.
A sports column caught her eye.
Folding the newspaper in half, she said,
“Cara, honey, you have done it this time.”
(by Da Eun from The Laundry News by Andrew Clements)

1. Choose book titles.
2. Rearrange them until they create a mysterious poem.

Book cover poetry

Book cover poetry

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