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After a recent revelation that poetry need not have meter or rhyme, I have turned some extracts from policy reports into poetic form (meaning that the lines do not go all the way to the end). Read in the proper tone of voice, with nuanced intonations, this works. I can understand why some folks disdain all the old conventions of poetry. (Heh.)
The Poetry of Policy
“Mold”
During the 1990s, a series of
Widely publicized incidents and
Growing awareness of water-damaged
Indoor environments
Brought attention to the hazards of
Indoor mold growth.
“In Florida in the early 1990s,”
One expert has pointed out,
“Several new courthouses with moisture and mold
Growth problems were vacated and
Rebuilt with the repair costs
Exceeding the initial capital costs of the buildings.”
“San Joaquin Valley”
The eight counties of the San Joaquin Valley
Vary widely in population, area, population density, and topography.
Fresno, Tulare, and Madera extend well into the foothills and mountains to the east,
While San Joaquin, Stanislaus, Merced, and Kings are more clearly
Confined to the valley.
Kern County extends well into the Mojave Desert on the east.
Countywide statistics,
Not to mention eight-county averages,
Encompass densely packed urban areas
As well as large, sparsely populated rural stretches.
“Employment”
Employment in the counties of the San Joaquin Valley
Has not stagnated over the last decade and a half.
There have been ups and downs over those years.
Some employment categories have declined
While others have risen, with each county
Having its own pattern.
But many jobs have been added
And some growth has been large.
This might be taken as a hopeful sign,
Not an indication of a fundamentally flawed economy,
Despite unemployment rates that stubbornly
Remain significantly higher than those of the state and the nation.
--Ken
P.S. Think the International Library of Poetry would give me a prize?
The Poetry of Policy
“Mold”
During the 1990s, a series of
Widely publicized incidents and
Growing awareness of water-damaged
Indoor environments
Brought attention to the hazards of
Indoor mold growth.
“In Florida in the early 1990s,”
One expert has pointed out,
“Several new courthouses with moisture and mold
Growth problems were vacated and
Rebuilt with the repair costs
Exceeding the initial capital costs of the buildings.”
“San Joaquin Valley”
The eight counties of the San Joaquin Valley
Vary widely in population, area, population density, and topography.
Fresno, Tulare, and Madera extend well into the foothills and mountains to the east,
While San Joaquin, Stanislaus, Merced, and Kings are more clearly
Confined to the valley.
Kern County extends well into the Mojave Desert on the east.
Countywide statistics,
Not to mention eight-county averages,
Encompass densely packed urban areas
As well as large, sparsely populated rural stretches.
“Employment”
Employment in the counties of the San Joaquin Valley
Has not stagnated over the last decade and a half.
There have been ups and downs over those years.
Some employment categories have declined
While others have risen, with each county
Having its own pattern.
But many jobs have been added
And some growth has been large.
This might be taken as a hopeful sign,
Not an indication of a fundamentally flawed economy,
Despite unemployment rates that stubbornly
Remain significantly higher than those of the state and the nation.
--Ken
P.S. Think the International Library of Poetry would give me a prize?