Sewing a cento poem

     Today, I have chosen to write a cento poem.  A cento poem is a patchwork of poetry lines borrowed from other poets.  Each line has to be from a different poem.  There is a lot of freedom within in a cento.  It can be as long as you want.  It can come from one poet or many.  The important thing is to give credit to the original sewer of the words you stitch together into a new quilted poem. I have been reading a lot of poetry this week as I have been on vacation from school.  I figured this type of poem would be a breeze...pulling lines from favorite funny poems to build a new original thought?  How easy is that?  Let me tell you...not very!  I have been sitting in my writer's chair for more than an hour and still I don't love my creation.  Here is what I came up with...

Rich Stitch

sewn by Melinda Harvey

Reach in your pocket.  You may find a secret

of sweetness tucked within

sweet and sour, tender, blue

In one freezing ocean two icebergs collide.

     

Amy Ludwig Vanderwater “Road Taken”

Michele Krueger “Marshmallow Survey”

Julie Krantz “Peaches, pears…and egos too”

Marina Sim “Icebergs”

     You see that I gave credit to the original poets underneath my cento.  All of these poets contributed to the March Madness Poetry Tournament over at www.thinkkidthink.com.  These poems were all written during round one of the competition.  If you haven't read any of the tournament poems, for poetry sake, get over there and do that now!  If you have enjoyed those poems, consider borrowing some lines from your favorite entries and try a cento poem of your own!