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
This last appeared here in March 2017.
O at the Edges 
Thank you for sharing, this artist looks great.
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Centos are fun and challenging to produce. I’d like to assemble more, but time keeps slipping away…
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You’ve just introduced me to an interesting form! I’ve got to try this.
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It’s a great form, but quite challenging. Yes, try it!
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This is such a fun and creative way to appreciate the poems of other authors. Thanks for sharing!
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It is, indeed. And I’ve found that I’ve become more intimate with the source poems, which is a wonderful bonus.
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I love this Robert! Thanks for introducing me to a new form.
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Thank you! It’s truly a wonderful form. You should try it!
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I will. 😊
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Wonderful!
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