I love found poetry. Love it. Found poetry reminds me of the time my friend Erin and I discovered John Wesley’s directions for singing in the back of a Methodist hymnal and she sat in the wooden pew furiously scribbling them all down on a spare church bulletin. Number two, for example, commands, “Sing [these tunes] exactly as they are printed here, without altering or mending them at all; and if you have learned to sing them otherwise, unlearn it as soon as you can.” There are seven in total.
I love how Wesley’s language is purposeful, direct and alarmingly un-ironic. On the other hand, sometimes you find poetry in an unexpected metaphor, a euphemism that is hilariously endearing. And that is what I bring you today. Most of us probably don’t often think of e-mail spammers as endearing, but I present the following list with hopes you’ll reconsider.
After four weeks out of town, I arrived home to over six hundred (!) messages in my g-mail spam folder. Of course there was lots of “Hot sale: Generic Medecines and Vi@gr!@”, but some folks took the time to charm me with their subject lines. Here is a brief review of the top titles:
- Your drillo needs support
- Your battleship won’t sink
- Vulcanizer for your hot-stick!
- Best doping for night monster
- Your shuttle needs better fuel
- Energy for your dude piston
- The best software for your joystick
- Charge your love generator
and, my personal favorite:
- The magic melody for your flute
I mean, if I were in the market for some generic Viagra, I’d hands-down buy it from that guy. In my book, a well-written metaphor goes a long way. And admit it, you’ve already started thinking of your own.*
*Tentacle, love gun, and tasty cake have already been taken.




3 comments
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July 10, 2009 at 10:58 am
claire
my personal favourite : whatever time is sung be sure to keep with it.
here! here! mr wesley.
holy spam! i don’t get any spam through gmail. ok, that’s not entirely true, i get a couple a month… but none as exciting as this. i’m off to google dude pistons and night monsters.
July 13, 2009 at 5:45 pm
katie
I love the sexy spam I get. Here are a couple of highlights from today’s junkmail box:
Care about your wang!
Super vitamin for giving your love accumulator a new charge.
Your’ll never sleep without a beaute! Because they appreciate hardness!
I’m glad hotmail doesn’t have a great junk filter.
July 17, 2009 at 8:48 am
Erin
Sing lustily and with good courage; beware of singing as if you were half-dead or half-asleep! I have an essay in me somewhere about those rules, they inspire me so – but every time I read them I think more and more that they are indeed a found poem that is so funny.
Also, my favorite spam was from Flossie, entitled “Did you really stop loving me?” There was only one line inside: “The air was filled with lovebird cries.”
So sad. And what were they selling? What is spam? I just don’t get it.