Rallentanda

Rallentanda

Wednesday, June 24, 2015

Winter Solstice

I have been reading a few winter poems lately. A true cento only consists of the lines from other poems.The cento or collage poem is comprised only of lines from the following:


Against Winter by Charles Simic
The sky is low,the clouds are mean by Emily Dickinson
Alms by Edna Vincent St Millay

Winter Again by Bruce Beaver
Winter by Kate Llewellyn
Stopping By Woods On A Snowy Evening by Robert Frost
The Dream Of Wearing Shorts Forever by Les Murray
I Know Why The Caged Bird Sings by Maya Angelou


Mid Week Motif...Poets United




The sky is low the clouds are mean
The darkest evening of the year
A narrow wind complains all day
How someone treated him

The truth is dark under your eyelids
I know a winter when it comes 
the air that comes in crimps the nose
like acid-smoke
like a Strindberg midnight

I scatter crumbs upon the sill
And close the window
Take or leave them as they will

The dream of
wearing  shorts forever in the enormous paddocks
slapping flies with a book on solar 
looking across to the further tropics
where the flame tree is in flower
leaps on the back of the wind

I'm packing
I'm off







16 comments:

  1. Haha. Thanks for explaining the Cento form. This poem works brilliantly!

    ReplyDelete
  2. Thanks...it took ages but I love writing them.

    ReplyDelete
  3. The truth is dark under your eyelids
    I know a winter when it comes

    Such intense images.. depicting the arrival of a cold harsh season.. and perhaps the challenges it brings along.. Beautifully captured :)

    Lots of love,
    Sanaa

    ReplyDelete
  4. What a clever and brilliant piece..winter can shine - i particularly liked 'The truth is dark under your eyelids'

    ReplyDelete
  5. Love the scattering of crumbs, nicely done.

    ReplyDelete
  6. Such vivid imagery....I loved the same lines Sanaa quoted. A really good write, Rall.

    ReplyDelete
  7. Love the last stanza very much, fun and I wish wearing shorts forever....

    ReplyDelete
  8. Yes, it must have taken ages to explore the other writing and get the snippets all combined to work so well.

    ReplyDelete
  9. I like how you found just the right lines and combined them into something so enjoyable to read. I love the last stanza. It made me chuckle.

    ReplyDelete
  10. Beautifully done, Rall. Doesn't look like a patchwork at all!!
    Sounds so real that you shudder mildly and ask yourself a question what if that is me in there...where the hemisphere is leaning farthest away from the Sun. The Winter Solstice goes unnoticed in many parts of India. Enjoyed reading...

    ReplyDelete
  11. Love it. Beautifully put together to make something new.

    ReplyDelete
  12. Excellent use of the form, you created a new feeling with old words.

    ReplyDelete
  13. i could understand this side of winter but i am forever thinking of the christmas part or the magical snowfall part. i like your vision.

    ReplyDelete
  14. I truly enjoyed this. You described the bite of winter so vividly.

    Thanks for visiting.

    ReplyDelete
  15. Rall this really was beautifully constructed - a new form to me. I can hear the echo of the poet's voices (nice)

    ReplyDelete
  16. Imitation is the most sincere form of flattery and as far as centos go, purloining must be the ultimate form of flattery! Loved what you did with the lines and I can only imagine how long it took you to glean all of those lines from all those poems, Rall. Works really well and you've certainly made it your own poem! Loved it.

    ReplyDelete