OULIPOST #14: COLUMN INCHES

The prompt:
Refer to the advertising section or the classifieds in your source newspaper. Create a poem by replacing all of the nouns in your chosen ad segment or classified listing with nouns from one article in the same newspaper. You may use multiple ads/classifieds, presented in the order of your choosing.

The process:
My colleague, the nice man who gives me the paper everyday, drew my attention to this very cool ad. 

It has a cute raccoon in it. I was sold. So..I had my ad. Then I saw this wonderful profile on the front page and I exclaimed, "NOUNS!!!." This article contained many nouns but it's a difficult read. It's a profile of the family of the marathon bombings' youngest victim. I had to stop reading it. I could barely get through each line without a tear. Due to this, I got a little creative with the text. I chose which lines I wanted to replace the nouns. I chose the main ad text. Also, I ate a lot of M&M's while writing this and dinner. It was a bit emotional!

It's not perfect..but it's what I could muster.

The result:

Finding the rearview

Family flying refined
1 home only
It’s your quick memory
To save up to 50% off regular base life 
Book by tears, tonight 
No rehabilitation

Save on strength
And
Pain,
Drugs at 
physcialescapes.com

Source:

Abel, Dave. "Finding the Strength: Part 2 of 2." The Boston Globe. 14 Apr 14. A1-A19. Print.