Newspaper Poetry

When you're snowed in, you have to find creative ways to entertain yourself. Today, we wrote newspaper poetry. The rules are simple. Pick a news story and find words to build your poem. The only hitch is that the words you use have to go in the same order they appear in the article. Just black out the words you don't want to use - and you have your newspaper poem.

Here are my poems, made from stories from the Dec. 24 edition of The Daily Oklahoman. Enjoy!

"The hall closet filled with gifts"
From "With a bit of delicacy, regifting can be OK" by Jennifer Palmer.

Christmas gifts waiting to be wrapped,
Waiting for a new home,
Perfect for so-and-so.
A tasteless fruitcake or ugly sweater,
Edible items such as wine, chocolate, coffee or nuts,
Scented candles or body lotions,
Or a book on a topic you're not interested in,
A toy my son received for his birthday -
It would be a shame to keep a perfectly good toy in a closet,
Instead of in the hands of a toddler.


"A memorable present"
From "A memorable present from Senate Democrats"

One whale of a Christmas present, delighted to report
$132 billion that will only cost $871 billion - something to brag about.
(gulp)
No biggie - details be dammed!
Debacle.
He is forced to claim the mandate of 'history' because he can't claim the mandate of voters.
Tragedy, the culmination of 20th-century liberalism.
Reckless bureaucracy trumps innovation,
Change nobody believes in.