Posted on by kimhaynesjohnson

Remarkably Bright Creatures: A Found Poem

Sometimes I like to open the book I’m currently reading to a random page and find a poem hidden there in the pages, peeking around the corners of other words, just waiting to be discovered. It reminds me of Augusten Burroughs’ Running With Scissors, where he and his friends did what they called a “Bible Dip” anytime they needed scriptural guidance. They’d open the Bible and drop their finger onto the page and read the verse to see what wise answers pertained to whatever the matter at hand.

Right now, I’m reading Remarkably Bright Creatures by Shelby Van Pelt, and I can’t stop turning the pages. It is humorous and heartwarming, and all at once I can go from one breath with tears welling and one to full laughter, the kind where you’re alone in a room in your favorite chair and you know if anyone is watching, they will think you’ve finally gone over the edge. It would pair well with Sy Montgomery’s Soul of an Octopus, and already I’m wondering whether I need a box of tissues like I did at the end of that one after I’d bonded with Octavia and found myself overcome with sorrow upon learning her fate. I can feel the faucet of tears coming on now just thinking about it, so I’m shifting gears and doing a Poetry Dip to find some words and phrases on two of Van Pelt’s pages (20-21) and weave them into a poem.

Words are funny like that. They will find you where you are and walk alongside you, knocking on your mind as you sit in thought, demanding attention. My own One Little Word for 2026 continues to salt and pepper moments as I think of all the ways I need to heed its urging and all the ways I can bring its nuances into my own writing. I’ve tried to show the onward movement in today’s poem, navigating the currents of the stages of grief.

Tentacles

tragedies ~

rawness,

despair

clustered,

soaked through

grief

~ cascaded,

etched,

blurred

into a sea

of sunshine

over the crest

Special thanks to Two Writing Teachers for giving writers space and voice

9 Replies to “Remarkably Bright Creatures: A Found Poem”

  1. Both your word choice for your poem and your reflections on words is sticking with me. I also am so connecting to you as a reader. I also allow words to both make me laugh out loud and then also ugly cry. For me last week, I took The Correspondent by Virginia Evans to the coffee shop and needed many napkins to soak up my tears. Kind wished “I was alone in a room in your favorite chair” and I’m sure those around me thought I had “gone over the edge” !! Finally, know that I thought of YOU often yesterday because I used YOUR OLW! I was back at work after a lovely relaxing 2 weeks off and grit my teeth and told myself “onward”. So with gratitude, I am happy to be connecting with you through words as we begin 2026. And one more thing, I need to try your method of opening a page and finding a poem. I’ve never done that. Thanks for the nudge and modeling it so well.

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    1. Sally, I’m glad we can share words. I know I am feeling the gratitude for so many blessings in my life, and I appreciate your OLW too! Have you read 84 Charing Cross Road? It’s one of my favorites, and Evans mentioned it in the book. It’s written in the same format. I think you might love it.

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  3. Wow, Kim. This was such a great slice to read today. What you wrote about words deserves to be quoted over, and over again! Powerful!

    “Words are funny like that. They will find you where you are and walk alongside you, knocking on your mind as you sit in thought, demanding attention.”

    Now I feel like doing a Word Dip!

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  4. Kim,

    I listened to the audiobook of Remarkably Bright Creatures. It’s a wonderful book. Books that tap into all our emotions are the best ones. I imagine you reading and looking for the poetry in prose w/ a shnoodle nearby. Stanley lies beside me as I read and write. I so love this idea of words finding us and walking w/ us. My OLW is that kind of word. Your poem is a gem building to a satisfying insight.

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  5. Kim,

    The Remarkable Bright Creatures audiobook popped up as a skip the line book at my library a few weeks ago. Yeah, you might want to get the tissues ready. Great characters.

    I’m eager to try your word dip. So fun.

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