Street Poems
True confession: I love eavesdropping on conversations! It’s one of my favorite things to do when I’m out, especially in a restaurant. My preference is to not have a view of the people in conversation. This way I use only their words and tone for context.
Depending on who you ask, street poems can be a form of urban poetry, incorporating the use of slang or language of oppressed people; it also falls into the category of Found poetry. The content is drawn completely from the poet’s surroundings – overheard conversations, signage, music lyrics, announcements.
Below is a series of random one-liners I heard across the course of the past 7 days. I would listen and jot down words . At the end of the week, I played with the lines, choosing to edit for some kind of thematic consistency.
Patricia Franz is a kidlit writer and published poet. She believes children, dogs, and sourdough have a lot to teach us about life, joy, and wonder. She has raised two boys, four dogs, and holds a master’s degree in Theology with a focus on children’s spirituality. Patricia, her husband, her Bernese Mountain dog, Bonny, and her sourdough starter split their time between the Arizona desert and the Sierra Nevada mountains. 
Oh, my, the things we hear when we just listen. In a long ago education class, an assignment was to record an overheard conversation to analyze language… but turning it into poetry is even more interesting!
I am temporarily in an ideal place for listening—daily walks on Broadway in NYC—and not so ideal for jotting things down. But I love this idea, and I’m going to give it a shot!