Hello Friends —
Since a poem is missing, we’re going to catch up with a found poem by Charles Jensen. This form of poetry — deriving a poem from an existing work, like a newspaper article, by crossing out or removing some of the words — has seen a recent trendy resurgence of late, including zines like the Found Poetry Review devoted solely to found poetry.
Enjoy.
Ellen
Poem In Which Words Have Been Left Out
You have the right to remain
anything you can and will be.
An attorney you cannot afford
will be provided to you.
You have silent will.
You can be against law.
You cannot afford one.
You remain silent. Anything you say
will be provided to you.
The rights can and will be
against you. The right provided you.
Have anything you say be
right. Anything you say can be right.
Say you have the right attorney.
The right remain silent.
Be held. Court the one. Be provided.
You cannot be you.
For another poem derived from language in a famous Supreme Court case, see Kevin McFadden’s “It’s Smut.”