How to Write a Personal Ad Poem

Instructions: I.                    Choose a specific subject (Carrie), place (Walgreens on 28th), time (Friday night), activity (operated that Redbox). II.                  Describe the subject’s attributes, both concrete (ashen face and hair of flax), and abstract (filled to the heart with stars). III.                Provide insight into the speaker, (I venerate the old). IV.                Include a specific request, (Magician seeking magician’s assistant). V.                  Make authentic choices with subject, setting, images, voice, tone, sensory detail, word choice, concrete and abstract detail.

Examples:

Saw You There

Ander Monson

"Carrie says I should make my connections into a poem." —Dennis Etzel Jr.

Sawed you there, through you there, girl whom I name

Carrie, shine of sun on bonnet-handle at that Walgreens

on 28th. A Friday night. It looked like you came straight

from fighting something that looked like lightning.

You were all scorched up. Tired look but with a residue

of glow, not in the family way, as they used to say,

and as I still do, since I venerate the old, but filled

to the heart with stars. Looking light years away, the way

you operated that Redbox: how can a girl seem so far

from Earth while at a Redbox? I was the girl in the super-

looking supermarket hat, with ashen face and hair of flax,

heart of gold and such. You didn't see me staring, not seeing

much of anything. Magician seeking magician's assistant,

my craigslist ad would say: I will saw through you any day.

Craigslist personal ad:

I, was wearing purple polka-dotted crotchless panties, yellow fuzzy tap dancing shoes and rainbow knee-high socks with swirly peace signs. On my tits, I had disco pasties. I have sicc multi-colored dreads.

You, had a green goatee, and no pants. A cow patterned blazer, No shirt. Sicc tatts.

I saw you hula'n on the multi-colored flying dragon art-car as I was riding my TIGHT cruzer thru da sicc playa dust.

We made eye-contact and never saw each again! Hope the universe brings us together. Namaste.

P.s. my name is Raven.

p.p.s we saw each other at burning man.