Poem: Cento à la Quiche
The Queen of Hearts, she made some tarts, all on a summer’s day; [i]
so the table had to be moved. Somewhere. [ii]
If you think I forgot how much you hated to share [iii]
this is just some food for thought; feel free to overeat. [iv]
"Born in an oven would you be a bun?" [v]
I began sneaking peanut-butter-and-jelly sandwiches. [vi]
Still in the incipient of my reiterating peyote dream, [vii]
the sound of marbles and dice against the sidewalk and [viii]
scattered braves beneath hoofprints, [ix]
helped horses to gallop and lovers to kiss [x]
Childhood is the kingdom where nobody dies; [xi]
crossing late is best. [xii] One person, a dear old man [xiii]
his prowling, guzzling, sneak-thief days [xiv]
time and the weather wear away. [xv]
For every man and woman walking up that hill to heaven [xvi]
I’m certain the Duchess, keeps her switch to hand. [xvii]
She, wretched matron, forced in age, for bread... [xviii]
she’s forgotten the taste of her own laughter, [xix]
nipping the broccoli shoots, beheading the carrots. [xx]
The eyes of the birds hide [xxi]
from the cat so it can’t play the finale on the fiddle; [xxii]
His time is not my time. [xxiii]
To find my way to the cinema of light... [xxiv]
that then, I scorn to change my state with Kings. [xxv]
A cento is a "patchwork" poem comprised of lines from other poet's poems. I wrote the poem above as a homework assignment for Poetics 2 through The Chicago School of Poetics. Some punctuation was changed. Citations for this collage poem are below:
[i] Author Unknown, "Queen of Hearts" (Traditional Rhyme) [ii] Marianne Boruch, “Still Life” in Grace, Fallen From [iii] Marjorie Q. Kerr, “And Then I’ll Know It’s You” in Expressions From Englewood [iv] Marjorie Q. Kerr, “Dear Eric…” in Expressions From Englewood [v] P.K. Paige, Hand Luggage: A Memoir in Verse [vi] Robert Savino, “Jagged Edges” in Inside a Tortoise Shell [vii] Justin Rabb, “Neon Bible” in Expressions From Englewood [viii] Madie Cannamore, “Can You Hear the Music?” in Expressions From Englewood [ix] Robert Savino, “Buried History” in Inside a Tortoise Shell [x] P.K. Paige, Hand Luggage: A Memoir in Verse [xi] Edna St. Vincent Millay, “Childhood is the Kingdom Where Nobody Dies.” [xii] Warren Woessner, “River Song” [xiii] James Laughlin , “Junk Mail” [xiv] Vachel Lindsay, “The Hope of their Religion” [xv] Donald Justice, “Time and the Weather” [xvi] Gerald Donelson “Tears of a Hustla” in Expressions From Englewood [xvii] Jane Yolen, “Furrows” in Ekaterinoslav [xviii] Oliver Goldsmith, “The Deserted Village” [xix] Maurya Simon King, “Midas’s Daughter” [xx] Maxine Kumin, “Woodchucks” [xxi] Beatriz Badikian, “The Eyes of the Birds” in Mapmaker Revisited [xxii] Robert Savino, “Rhyme or Reason” in Inside a Tortoise Shell [xxii] Etheridge Knight, “He Sees through Stone” [xxiv] Robert Savino, “white whisker crossroads” in Inside a Tortoise Shell [xxv] William Shakespeare, Sonnet XXIX
