Caitlin

Blog 153: Blackout Poetry

January 11, 2023

Just before Christmas I was browsing in my local bookshop and I came across a journal called ‘Scribble-out Poetry’. In this journal there are individual pages of sample text from some of history’s greatest works, ready to be blacked out with a marker to form poetry. But what is Scribble-out Poetry? A quick internet search will tell you that; ‘Blackout poetry, Scribble-out poetry, or Erasure is a form of found poetry or found object art created by erasing words from an existing text in prose or verse and framing the result on the page as a poem.’ As a creative soul, I’m always looking for ways to spark creativity so I decided to try my own hand at marking out text to make poetry…

 

 

I was born endowed with excellent parts,

inclined by nature to respect the wise and good and honourable.

I concealed years of reflection,

the world, so profound

restraint and shame,

knowledge relief sorrow and suffering…

I drew steadily nearer to truth

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

An eye, seeking a lover

To dream

brown eyes blue eyes

A love for the owner

To see

Loss and trouble

All others will appear insignificant

Obstacles in your immediate future

To dream of love

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

beauty is only superficial

not the wonder of wonders

The true mystery of the world is the invisible

The gods

But what gods

You have years to live

discover that the memory of your past wanes

Time wars against you

tedious, hopeless life.

 

 

 

 

 

 

A smile. Like marble

could not perceive the living

his lips

touched the warmth of her body

complete with all the charm of an illusion

beautiful woman

it could not be otherwise.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

She

pretty small proud and perfect

She could love with devotion

weave a romance

watch her

she was pretty and lonely.