By Heather Hintze

EUGENE, Ore.--  Residents in the South University neighborhood spent Sunday morning getting to know each other over poetry.

Allen Hancock came up with the Poetry Bench after seeing something similar in Portland.  "I'm hoping it will bring people together and because people are choosing the words they put on the blocks, I'm going to encourage people to put words related to their neighborhood, whether it's places or experiences people have when they're here," says Hancock.

About a dozen people showed up, with words like "thrive," "beauty," and "flush."  Then they mixed and matched the words to make poetry.  Melanie Knapp came up with, "Come for the beauty of the stump to thrive and flourish together."

The chair of the South University Neighborhood Association, Marilyn Milne, says she thinks the bench is a great way to get residents involved in their community.  "You know it's not just for neighbors. It's for everyone going through the neighborhood on the bike street right here and it's for people strolling through our area. So it's really sharing and I like that it's both neighborly and an outreach."