Saturday, February 19, 2005

Significantly different

Over at Pratie Place, Melinama has issued a challenge: to write a love poem in which virtually every word comes from an article in the Wall Street Journal.

I do not have access to the WSJ, so instead I have written a poem in which every word is taken from the paper I am currently proofreading. This paper has been written for a financial journal, so I think it qualifies. It certainly wasn't easy, particularly as I decided that I wanted my poem to rhyme.

I'm not quite sure, however, whether this qualifies as a love poem. Perhaps it depends on how you interpret it. You will have to decide for yourself.


SIGNIFICANTLY DIFFERENT

Significantly different
Idiosyncratic
Merging as equals
They further divide.

Exchanges are negative
Confidence diminishes
Competent performance
They cannot provide

The horizon drifts
The universe shifts
Insufficient data
Is on display.

Behind the phenomena
Unsuitable behaviour
A sensitive analysis
Can show the way.

Hitherto successful
Rigid requirements
Are completely excluded
A deliberate effect

The following hypothesis
Is carefully constructed:
Relax the criteria
Could this be correct?

Encouraging potential
Lingering attention
Traditional requirements
They mostly reject

Facilitate alternative
Unsuitable behaviour
A volatile relationship
They carefully select.

A sensitive procedure
With maximum risk
Leads to speculative rise
From between the balance sheets

The calculated spread
Is conspicuous and positive
Dramatically successful
A venture to repeat!

It's all a giant puzzle.
Reject the strict criteria!
Reverse the expectations!
(Subsequently doubt.)

Significantly different
Statistical anomaly
Negative -
Positive -
Zigzag.
Out.

5 comments:

Noah Bawdy™ said...

Go to www.bugmenot.com
It will give you access to whatever site you want. Including WSJ. ;-)

Faerunner said...

Amazing.

I've never tried poetry like that before - how long did it take you?

Badaunt said...

Noah: I tried bugmenot, and they didn't have a login. (I have bugmenot in the sidebar!) But isn't WSJ a paid subscription anyway? I didn't check properly, but there was something about 'subscribe now and get two weeks free'. Is there a free version as well?

Faerunner: All day I was collecting words and phrases as I was working, and then thought I could just plonk them together and get a 'poem'. But then I decided I wanted it to rhyme... so it took about two hours.

Two hours of fun, though!

Anonymous said...

That's pretty damn good lady!!! I'm impressed.

Badaunt said...

Librarianguish: Thank you.

Now it's your turn!