From the Academy of American Poets, a cento is derived from the Latin word for “patchwork”. The cento (or collage poem) is a poetic form composed entirely of lines from poems by other poets.
Love,
what is love?
I tried to answer,
but our language had been lost
(and forgotten).
So, love’s face may still seem love
(to me).
Everything carries me
(to you).
Love,
what is love?
I tried to answer,
but our language had been lost
(and forgotten).
If little by little,
you stop loving me,
I shall stop loving you…
If suddenly
you forget me
do not look for me…
Love,
what is love?
I tried to answer,
but
our language had been lost.
If I were a poet,
I’d kidnap you.
Lyric you in lilacs.
If suddenly
you forget me,
do not look for me.
Isabelle Palerma
Poems Used:
- “Love — What is Love?”, Robert Louis Stevenson.
- “In the Dusky Path of a Dream”, Rabindranath Tagore.
- “Sonnet 93”, William Shakespeare.
- “If You Forget Me”, Pablo Neruda.
- “Kidnap Poem”, Nikki Giovanni.
Isabelle Palerma 
Un Cento: A Poem…I may have a new favorite. I never thought id see the day.
“Our language had been lost”
If I forgot my Love I would haunt the Earth searching till eternity had mercy on my forsaken heart. Like the blind searching for stars to find themselves.
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…is cento the foundational unit for poetry as the neuron is to the mind?
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I wish I could take credit for all these beautiful words, but I am only stitching them together.
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Dear Seamstress of Words,
Thank you for your comments. They have been a gift and joy on this Saturday. I pray to Eirene your weekend is blessed.
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