I have an on-off relationship with poetry. I disliked it for most of my school days, thinking it was a bit stuffy and pretentious. Then I discovered the right poems and devoured as much as I could in my sixth form and university days. Now, though, I must confess that my poetry reading is in decline, and I tell myself I must make more of an effort to keep up with it.

Well, now there’s a new poet on the scene who can perhaps kick start me into reading verse again. The name of this talented artist may surprise you – it’s Google. Yes, the Internet’s number-one search engine is now spouting verses which range from the poignant to the amusing, all of them collected at Google Poetics. The site is a collection of screenshots from Google searches and accompanying suggestions, submitted by users from around the world. Here are some of my favourites:

Wow. So Google, it turns out, is feminist, lyrical, nostalgic, and even capable of a bit of meta-poetry. Who knew? I could choose so many more of the poems – they’re all hilarious and surprising, so go take a look. And perhaps do a bit of Google searching and submit your own discoveries…

Sara Magness, Editorial Administrator