Love, Scattered (Cento)
I cull and offer this and this,
and these last definite whorls
or later star or flower, such
rare dark in another world,
outdistancing us, madness
upon madness, the crest
and hollow, the lift and fall,
ah drift, so soft, so light,
where rollers shot with blue
cut under deeper blue as the
tide slackens when the roar of
a dropped wave breaks into it,
and under and under, this
is clear—soft kisses like bright
flowers— why do you dart and
pulse till all the dark is home?
I am scattered in its whirl.
This cento is composed exclusively of lines taken from fifteen pages in the Collected Poems of H.D., 6th printing, 1945. Hilda Doolittle is a fascinating figure in 20th century American poetry. You might look at the Poetry Foundation’s biography for further information:
http://www.poetryfoundation.org/bio/h-d
O at the Edges 
❤
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My favorite, back when I could still see colors, was blue! Didn’t like the loud reds. Just the quiet solitary blues.
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Oh, those quiet blues!
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I do not love HD but I really like what you have done with this!! Very nice rhythm and tone.
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It’s taken me a long time, but I’m appreciating H.D. more and more. For years her work mystified me. Now I lose myself in her rhythms quite easily.
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Good to know. I will keep my mind open —
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I love composing found poems from poems too, and I like this one.
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Thanks, Mary. I’ve only attempted a handful of these, but enjoy the give and take, especially the difficulties in trying to maneuver another poet’s lines into a new entity (much mumbling and head shaking takes place). It’s a good thing that I don’t work on these in public…
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I’ve actually ‘made’ quite a few of these but dare not publish them in case they draw the wrath of poets and translators (still living). I mumble to myself too as I try out the lines.
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Truly an interesting concept. Thank you.
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Interesting and challenging, starting from “what lines do I use” and then determining a flow or narrative sequence. But much fun.
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What do they call this type of poetry? I would like to see the rules on how it works. Also I am glad you pointed out Hilda Doolittle as I would like to read some of her works.
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It’s called a “cento.” My post of April 8 contains a cento and a link to information about the form.
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Have you come across the work of Australian poet, Emma Lew? She would take lines from non-literary sources (science, non-fiction, old diaries, interviews, things kids say) and arrange them into poems. She stopped working some years ago, but her poems were quite startling.
Here’s a link:
http://www.asu.edu/pipercwcenter/how2journal/archive/online_archive/v1_5_2001/current/special-feature/lew.html
Try and find her poem “Snow and Gold” (it’s one of my favourites!).
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I am not familiar with Emma Lew’s work (but am about to be). Thank you for the link.
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What an interesting idea – to reshape someone else’s words and lines…without inserting anything of your own. Like having a conversation with another poet!
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Yes, and sometimes the other poet breaks in and silently says “this isn’t working.” As it turned out with this poem – the original first line was cut, as were the following three. It seems the focus changed as I progressed, and those lines no longer fit.
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Gorgeous word song!
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H.D. of course gets all the credit!
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Well, you get the credit for posting and sharing. 😉
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Yes, that’s well done.
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Thank you!
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This is really cool. I wnjoyed the fractured yet cohesive feel.
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Thank you. Centos are certainly interesting to produce.
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Thanks, will look into centos. Good poetry.
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