Biography (Cento)
I am becoming
one of the old
men, but you,
you are earth.
Where is the moment
that lingers,
the static of lost
voices and the feel
of the cleft in the bark.
Ask me anything.
Why am I
grown so cold?
Have you been here?
Thinking
is wind in a cage;
it does not say anything.
* * *
Credits:
James Wright, Cesare Pavese, Ruth Ellen Kocher, HD, Eduardo C. Corral,
Adelaide Crapsey, Denise Levertov, Blaga Dimitrova, Jacques Roubaud,
* * *
A cento is composed of lines from poems by other poets.
For further information and examples of the form, you might peruse the Academy of American Poets site: http://www.poets.org/poetsorg/text/poetic-form-cento
I love Cento poems. Thanks for sharing this one.
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Thanks, John. The cento is one of my favorite forms.
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Well parsed.
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Thanks, Ken. They are both fun and challenging.
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Wonderful. (And I confess, my cage is full of wind! 🙂 )
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Oh, how I know that feeling!
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I really enjoyed reading this post. x
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Thank you, Vidisha.
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Why isn’t there a LOVE button? 😀
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Your comment is even better! Thank you.
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❤
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A very good poem
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Thank you, Henrietta. Much appreciated.
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Pingback: Biography (Cento) — O at the Edges – mywordCanvass
I like the poem, I just shared it on my blog
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Thank you for sharing!
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You are welcome, I wouldn’t mind sharing more of your works and also will be glad if I can guest post on your blog too.
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I haven’t done any guest posts, but if I do, will keep you in mind.
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I will appreciate that.
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Beautiful Bob. Especially the last three couplets …. Thinking is wind in a cage; It does not say anything
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Aren’t those great lines? Wish I had written them, but at least I was able to put them to good use.
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I enjoyed this and learned something new. Thank you.
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You’re very welcome.
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I love this line — “thinking is wind in cage; it does not say anything.”
Beautiful piece.
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I couldn’t resist those lines!
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I’m glad you didn’t!
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Dimitrova has many, many wonderful lines.
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When I have a biography to write someday, I hope to be able to conclude it with such an insight as yours. “Thinking … does not say anything” is a lesson I’ve been trying to wrap myself around for some time (especially as I do most of my thinking out loud, which often feels like a case of diarrhea of the mouth…).
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Sometimes I think too much and have to force myself to “do” rather than think. If only the doing had consistently better results…
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I do my fair share of “doing,” but as with “saying,” it’s often to my detriment. Being a Control Freak only gets you so far. I’ve been practicing Alexander Technique as part of my recovery from a lifetime of sports injuries culminating in back surgery, and I’m learning how to “do” less and “let” and/or “not do” a lot more. It’s amazing how brilliant the body can be — that “cage” of bones that serves as the structure for everything… that is, if we let it!
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The “not doing” is easily equally as important, if not more so. And that is difficult to embrace. I tend to obsess. If only I could manage to let the wind blow through more often!
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Amen.
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I love this. “Thinking// is wind in a cage”
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Thanks very much! Blaga Dimitrova gets all the credit for that line.
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Thank you
for introducing me to Blaga Dimitrova today! Love what I have read so far!
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Isn’t she wonderful? I keep uncovering these wonderful, unknown-to-me poets. Who’s next?
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Another beautiful work. Nonstop greatness from Okaji Sensei!
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I take credit only for the assembly. 🙂
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Great editing is its own art. Henshuu wa jouzu des’ yo!
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🙂
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i arrange centos with lines from Korean poets & use them as song lyrics: i am an atrocious lyricist. its quite a nice juxtaposition: slide blues, Kim Chi-ha & Cheon Song-pyeong.
you may be getting old Robert, but your creative powers are yet to show any signs of waning.
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I’ve just recently realized that I am indeed getting old, hence the use of the Wright line “I am becoming one of the old men.” When Wright was my age, he’d been dead for five years. When Roethke reached my age, he’d been gone for more than two years. I don’t know how long I’ll continue (who does?), but I’ll continue trying to make up for lost time – though I’ve dabbled in poetry for more than 30 years, I’ve only seriously given myself to it for a little more than 4 1/2 years. I have so much to learn, so much to do. Having been forced to face my mortality once, and having other challenges thrown at me, all I can say is that I am grateful for my alloted time and that I intend to make the best of it. The years blur by quickly, Daniel. One moment I was approaching 30. The next, I find myself nearing 60.
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well i think if you can keep madness at bay then you should outlive Roethke by some time., so i wouldn’t worry about usurping his benchmark year by a fair few more productive years. eat plenty of decent nosh (food) & keep the mind busy thus agile, you should be ok.
as for arrogance in youth, it is probably better for us to get it out of our system when young rather than develop it in our crepuscular years. i suppose that is a part of growing wise.
i hope i am still as devoted to poetry at your age Robert & that when i am your age you are still putting in the hours & churning out post-octogenarian verse & teaching the young up starts how to write.
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I think that I’ll simply wither away if I ever stop being curious and wanting to learn, and writing, at least the way I write, frequently sets me off into unknown territories.
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My one and only regret from my life in poetry is that I was once approached by a country-western songwriter who asked if I might consider collaborating, as he was looking for a lyricist. I was a young and arrogant 20-something poet back then, and considered myself above such things. Now, I’d embrace the idea, and enjoy attempting something new. I have no idea if the songwriter achieved any success – I discarded his business card soon after, and don’t remember his name. I’m a horrible musician, and can’t write decent lyrics to my own “music.” But it would be fascinating to try to write to good melodies.
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You make music all the time. In your case, “I am Brahma, the straight line…” is sonata in Bb! Anyone can string together a few tones in the key of C and imagine themselves a musician, but to make a choir out of the “static of lost voices” requires a composer. You sir have written and cento-ed not “good” but GREAT melodies the entire time!
先生は作曲家です!
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Next up: Em!
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Thinking
is wind in a cage;
-You stole the show with that line, Robert…
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Thanks, Christopher. Blaga Dimitrova’s words! A spectacular poet.
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I’d never heard of a cento, so I’ve learned something new already this day, in the wee-hours of the morning. Thank you, and I like your cento very much! All the best to you w/blessings!
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I enjoy reading and writing centos. Harvesting lines encourages me to read the poets’ work much more closely.
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Cento sounds interesting. It’s the first time I’ve heard of it and want to try writing one someday. I’m learning a lot about poetry from your site! And btw, great cento! 🙂
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It truly is an interesting form. The trick for me is to produce a piece that resembles, in the assemblage, something I would write.
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This is my first encounter with a cento. I might try my hand at this. Beautiful, beautiful poem. 🙂
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It’s a wonderful form to tinker with. I’ve found that I become more intimate with the work of the poets whose lines I harvest. And thank you for your kind words.
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Was HD – Hilda Doolittle ?
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Yes, that’s right. By the way, your comments were diverted to my spam folder. I haven’t a clue why.
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