Nov 01, 2022 by Bethel Swift, in Poetry

A cento is a “patchwork” poem comprised of lines from other poets' poems with only some punctuation changed. I post new centos periodically to share what I'm reading and keep the creative wheels turning. Citations follow each poem. This is November 2022's installment:

Fulfillment

In the mid-eighties in Chicago,
what had she done wrong this time?
When the food soothes the pain, do you stop?
What real thing does anyone want?
I want to be held.


Citations:

 ¹ “Origin Story” in Electrical Arches by Eve L. Ewing
 ² “Eve, Creator” in Birthmarks by Whitney Rio Ross
 ³ “I Am Fat & When You Read This Poem, You Will Be Too” in Belly to the Brutal by Jennifer Givhan
 ⁴ “Love in Stereo” in Starlight Error by Remica Bingham-Risher
 ⁵ “Ash” in Regarding the Monkey by Adam Greenfield

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