Poetic connections...or, "Jesus in red shoes": Missed Connections as "found poetry"

Missed Connections "poetry" is growing into something of a cult thanks to the work of New York Times' writer Alan Feuer. He trawls the Missed Connections section of craigslist New York and publishes the best ads verbatim, merely adding line and stanza breaks and billing the result as "found poetry". He even uses the ad's heading as the title of each "poem".

It’s a game anyone can play – and more should. Indeed, Feuer should be hitting the poetry circuit and giving readings of his work, since what’s striking about his Missed Connections "poems" is... well, how much better they are than most modern poetry.

After all, we know what they’re talking about; they’re not just written to impress other poets, and hey, love is a universal theme.

One of Feuer's latest MC poems found on craigslist reads as follows:

nanny, mother, kidnapper?
3rd times a charm? oh you
with your cute little moccasins
and lazy day stroll. holding a baby of sorts.
maybe its yours
or maybe its just your job
to be awesome
and carry around babies?
either way i think you are
quite cute and im glad i was able
to squeeze out a “hey”
while caring for an old golden retriever
and trying to tame a CRAZY little pug!
want to make an ambient drone
sound track for an 8mm film,
put together a dinosaur puzzle
and eat hummus & onion pita bread? you KNOW you do!

The following MC post, headlined “Jesus in red shoes”, comes from craigslist Portland. It might make a good video with Brad Pitt as Jesus, and definitely deserves to be immortalized in verse:

JESUS IN RED SHOES
You - bearded man with sandy brown hair
and kind eyes. Red sneakers and a blue sweater.
Me - quiet brunette wearing a hat
and all in black.
You were such a gentleman
and let me board the bus before you.
Then you proceeded to chat
with a crazy old lady
about her life drama and such.
I'm sure it made her day lol.
You mentioned cutting your hair
for locks of love as well,
I thought that was really sweet.
When we came to your stop
the way you thanked the driver
was unique and genuine.
I thought you were such a nice person,
you MUST be Jesus
Lol jk