I often see things like that starting off scenes in films, especially East Asian new-wave films, and oftentimes in video games. If you've seen the movie 2046, that happens in many scenes and it's an interesting idea to throw on the table. That worked because the poems or short poetic proverbs fitted into the experimental and almost biographical style of the film. I bet it might work well in your case Although, on the other hand, oftentimes the like I see in books can come off as almost gimmicky and pretentiously artsy-fartsy. I'd be careful with it, but if really really feels right it should come off quite well.
