Untitled Cento

to stall the nagging
With one struck match put out the moon and sun
But in that brief look straight into the sun
The eyes were blinded and the brain struck mad.

with them. In the downy wedlocked bed
that sanctum
sanctorum where I sport
Swung intimate views out of a foreign room,
Wall-eyed alleys, coils of husky smells,
The breath of journeys strong there.

With aged remorseless eyes
Damp in the tidal dark, it whimpers,
These are the old places, and walking there
And from this little distance under earth
Will break the sun
Another place: that you contrived
And at the hard hilt twisted it.

Your eyes will crack as ours to see one night
Yet here deep under is my doom.
It settles in the interstice.

But as one part warbles
To be normal, another puts a spin on things.

Something has come between us-
Blue blown out of the sky into their eyes,
To feel how restlessly the bones live out
Unfinished life.
To touch your face and give you from deep breasts
With earth’s most nourishing and nervous rain
The white rich milk of her perpetual peace.


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Above is my first Cento. Title suggestions are welcome. Here are the works that inspired my poem.

Belleau Wood by Paul Engle
My Second Marriage To My First Husband by Alice Fulton
It Is There by Babette Deutsch
The Catch by A. E. Stallings

1 comment:

Naquillity said...

Christine said...

Awesome! I'll be back to read again tomorrow. I'm watching Lost....

Thursday, March 13, 2008
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Blogger paisley said...

oh michelle that was terrific centos can be a lot of fun... we are doing this twice a week over on patchwork poetry you ought to come over and join us... heres a link to mine this week, and there is a link to patchwork poetry at the top of the page.....

i liked you better

Friday, March 14, 2008
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OpenID noahthegreat said...

Wow, these lines look like I've read them before somewhere.

(Shot)

:P

Friday, March 14, 2008
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Anonymous Lirone said...

It makes such a difference to read a patchwork poem knowing or not knowing where the lines came from. These fit together so well I can't see the joins! I particularly like the last three lines...

Saturday, March 15, 2008
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Anonymous Christine said...

For a title, how about

"memories intersect in the marriage bed"

In the poem I see a woman who is trying to give love to her lover, but memories and struggles are interfering. So that's where my suggested title comes from.

So many interesting images and moods-a true impressionist poem.

I hope you join the patchwork circle. It's very fun to see what others do with the same poems.

Saturday, March 15, 2008
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Blogger writerwoman said...

I like this part the best

Something has come between us-
Blue blown out of the sky into their eyes,
To feel how restlessly the bones live out
Unfinished life.


You did a nice job putting this all together. Hope to see you at Patchwork Poetry again.

Sunday, March 16, 2008
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Blogger jillypoet said...

This is haunting. You patched the lines together seamlessly! I have only read it once, so far, so my first read turned out to be for language. I will re-read for "meaning" next. I'm so glad you joined us!

Wednesday, March 19, 2008

July 4, 2008 at 9:45 PM