They flash upon that inward eye
Throw back their heads & loose their streaming hair,
Like little worms they turn and crawl,
To justify—Despair.
Lying is an occupation,
Believe not what they urge
The earth neither lags nor hastens,
Though cold and stark and bare,
The Moon emerges from behind a Cloud
To wonder, “Do I dare?” and, “Do I dare?”
I’m participating in the January yeah write poetry slam by crafting a cento. The title comes from this sonnet by William Shakespeare. Want to give one a try? Check out the guidelines in the yeah write coffeehouse. In the meantime, check out the other centos this week!
Graceful Press Poetry: Of the din and of the darkness
Silver Leaf Journal: We Call the Treasure Knowledge
that cynking feeling 
Cyn, you are on a poetry roll! This is amazing!
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Thanks. This is like putting together a puzzle. Except there’s no box with all the pieces and you have to hunt around for them. Bad simile.
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The form fascinates me. I followed all your links and learned. Now I know enough to say that your response to the challenge is very, very good. I’m thinking I’m going to write a cento and share it with my poetry group, hoping they’ll all want to try one. Thanks for the motivation and an enjoyable half hour.
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I enjoyed exploring the other works in order to put this together. If nothing else, you end up reading great poetry.
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This is lovely, Cyn! It flows from beginning to end and the imagery is vivid.
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What a great group of poets you’ve rounded up to tell your story. Ending with Prufrock, love it! Great job.
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And having the moon wonder, brilliant. 🙂
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Oh my god, you even rhymed it! Centos are hard work, but you make it look so easy. I bow down to you 🙂
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I didn’t start out with rhyming, but then I found that Dickinson line about Despair and it rhymed with lines I already had. Then I freaked out that it would sound wrong if the rest didn’t rhyme. This definitely wasn’t easy.
And you! Your first attempt was wonderful!
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Yes, extra props for the rhyme scheme. The moon imagery is striking and I’m in love with the title.
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The title was elusive so I was thrilled to find that phrase.
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you are so good at this! i’m amazed at how you can pull from other places and bring it all together to paint your own picture. this one is gorgeous. that last stanza is so evocative. great job!
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Don’t know about good. This was pure stubbornness. Once I found a line I wanted to use, I just kept looking and looking.
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OMG a Cento that RHYMES! You kind of remind me of me and my rhyming tritina. It’s so much harder to add in the rhyming. I hope this took you less time than mine took me!
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I hope you give centos a try. I think the challenge of arranging disparate lines will appeal to your analytical mind as well as your artistic side.
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