Poetry with one ear open

I wrote this originally in 2009 on another blog that I have since deleted.

Here's a new sport. When sitting in a boring lecture (or meeting, or any other time you must pretend to pay attention) pull out your notebook and entertain yourself. Listen to the blah blah with one ear open, or maybe only 2/3 or an ear. Latch on to a phrase and twist it a little. Create a poem from the meaningless words around you. Add a bit of story and a dash of aesthetics. The real skill lies in when to close your ears as much as when to open them.

Here's an example:

There, in the small amino acids, a lonely aggregate

pervades the space between the fibers.

Enzymatic turnover, a literature by itself,

is ignored and gains weight, chocolate and ice cream

at midnight, watching old movies.

Seeking partners they employ varied techniques.

The interactions enable two molecules to localize together,

move together.

But I don't need to talk about that.

You know that story by heart.