Awakened, He Turns to the Wall (Cento)
Then, everything slept.
Where were you before the day?
You see here the influence of inference,
whereby things might be seen in another light,
as if the trees were not indifferent, as if
a hand had suddenly erased a huge
blackboard, only, I thought there was
something even if I call it nothing,
like the river stretching out on its
deathbed. No one jumps off.
* * *
A cento is composed of lines from poems by other poets. This originated from pieces by: Larry Levis, Jacques Roubaud, Lorine Niedecker, Gustaf Sobin, Denise Levertov, Elizabeth Spires, William Bronk, Vicente Huidobro, Ingebord Bachmann
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
O at the Edges 
Well chosen lines! I must have another go at this form. Masterly composition.
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Thanks, Mary. They’re great fun to work on!
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So they are.
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Nice job!
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Thanks, Daniel. I have an idea for a series of centos, but it seems I have more ideas than time these days.
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At least you have the ideas…. it’s always good to have lots of ideas.
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I love these partly because, of all these poets, I only knew one — I have lots more to discover before I ever attempt one of these, but you give me great leads. 🙂
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You’re in for a treat! Great poets – an eclectic mix – and some are more easily used in centos than others.
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