This Must Be March

                                                          
what makes march         special
who makes march          madness
what makes a march      a march                                                                     
who owns march
what month is march     for
is it march                        today

*****

I made this poem using autofill suggestions on a Google search, then added some tabs. You can read it several ways, although the formatting may be off if you're reading on a phone.

On Friday, March 10, Heidi Mordhorst has the Poetry Friday roundup at her blog My Juicy Little Universe.

Photo by ST: Detail from Yayoi Kusama's mosaic mural “A Message of Love, Directly from My Heart unto the Universe” (2022), at Grand Central Terminal, NYC.

Comments

[Heidi]

Susan, I love this way of crowd-sourcing a poem. Yes, it is March today, and we own it! I adore that mosaic and would gladly have it on my wall. I wonder how grand and central it is? Would it fit my little house?

[Linda Baie]

What fun to play with Google for your poem, Susan. Like March itself, it is full of surprises!

[Irene Latham]

I love how fun the experience of this poem is! Thank you!

[Denise Krebs]

Susan what a fun process in writing this poem. I love the thoughts that come as I read it, and to experiment reading it in different ways. The image of sunshines is gorgeous!

[Laura Shovan]

Fun March poem, Susan! I‘ve never been able to create anything interesting from auto fill. It quickly devolves into loops of nonsense!

[janice scully]

Your poem made me wonder and I took to Google Search. I guess it is crowd-sourcing a poem and what a good idea. Thanks.

[Susan T.]

Heidi, that mural would be perfect...and, at 5 ft. x 120 ft., sure to be very grand and very central.

Linda, I was totally playing around with Google and laughing at some of the results.

Irene, thank you for reading!

Denise, that mural in Grand Central is stunning. I really liked it, too, and was lucky to see it before the crowds of commuters descended.

Laura, these poems turn out so goofy that I can't resist playing around with the questions I feed Google. Sometimes the results are really boring, and other times a gold mine.

Janice, yes, indeed, a bit of crowd-sourcing/AI with search auto-fill results!

[Buffy Silverman]

What a fun poetry prompt! Gonna give it a try.

[Susan T.]

Buffy, yay! Tell me what you think of this method.

[Alan j Wright]

A most productive use of Google, Susan. Your curious mind continues to serve you well. Autofill delivers to the probing poet... Well done again!

[PATRICIA J FRANZ]

Some great questions, Susan. I like "who owns march" -- I've not tried autofill - you have my curiosity piqued now. Thank you!

[Susan T.]

Alan and Patricia, thanks so much! I like the questions that pop up on the auto-fill, too. So odd at times, like the "who owns march.?" Where does that even come from? The mysteries of Google...

[Marcie Flinchum Atkins]

Love that you used autofill! How fun! March is really sending me over the edge these days. We got spring like weather in February and March has been such a bully with its wind.

[Susan T.]

Marcie, same here in Connecticut. Ugh. Very spring-y weather in February but windy & chilly & gray now. But thank goodness Poetry Friday always cheers me up!

[Carol Varsalona]

Susan, it is great fun reading your March poem in different ways. Since Marcie lives near me she got the weather right. I am out exploring nature looking for the buds of spring.

[Susan T.]

Carol, that's a good thing to do today. Enjoy your outdoor time. As a birdwatcher, I've come to appreciate the early signs of spring that the birds bring: the arrival of the woodcocks, killdeers, and oystercatchers reminds me that spring really is on the way. I'll do a happy dance when the first Pine Warbler shows up.

[Tabatha]

Charming March poem! I saw you had a birthday -- hope it was a good one :)

[Susan T.]

It was indeed a good birthday. Thank you, Tabatha! This poem was my own ode to birthday month.

[Michelle Kogan]

What a fun poem Susan, and clever idea to have it autofill–perhaps a new poem form, autofill poems. I like your spacing too. Rich image also, Yayoi Kusama's art is all over, recently I saw some of her art on mugs called "Late-Night Chat, here's a link: https://mcachicagostore.org/products/kusama-late-night-chat-coffee-mug-set

[Susan T.]

Thanks, Michelle. I just may have to get some mugs! Kusama will be 94 soon. Isn't that amazing?

[Rose Cappelli]

What a fun idea! Thanks for sharing.

[Susan T.]

You’re so welcome, Rose.

[Bridget Magee]

Love how you cleverly boosted your creativity with Google, Susan! March on! :)

[Susan T.]

March on: good one, Bridget! YES. Thanks for reading.

[Laura Purdie Salas]

I just love how you play with words and creativity, Susan! You have more entries in my writing prompt ideas list I started than anyone else!

[Susan T.]

That's such a nice thing to hear, Laura! Thank you. It is such fun to play around with words, isn't it? The auto-fill suggestions make me laugh sometimes, and that's my starting point.

[Karen Edmisten]

What a fun idea for some new inspiration! I like the way the tabbed words form their own poem, too!

special
madness
a march
for
today

Our March weather is certainly a special madness. :D

[Susan T.]

Our weather is a special madness, too, Karen. It's driving me crazy! I've lived in the northeast for eons, but every year I have to remind myself to wait until May for consistently nice weather...