For her A to Z Poetry Month post today, Rena Traxel offered up the word Contest. So, I was going to write a poem about contests. After all, I've won a bunch of them - all the purely lucky - pull your name out of a hat type. Actually, I think the way I bend my entry forms might have helped me - but still, it's just dumb luck!
But, farther into her post, she challenged us to write a Cento - or Patchwork Poem - and I love a good challenge! I had never heard of a Patchwork Poem so I was eager to try it. It's pretty simple - according to Poets.org, it's "a poetic form made up of lines from poems by other poets. Though poets often borrow lines from other writers and mix them with their own, a true cento is composed entirely of lines from other sources."
I had no idea where to start so I googled "famous lines from poems" and I found a site that listed the ten most famous poetry lines. Then, I rearranged them so it would make some sort of sense and I think it actually does! You be the judge.
Putting in My Two Centos
(I can't resist a pun)
Once upon a midnight dreary,
while I pondered weak and weary
Into the valley of Death
Rode the six hundred
But I have promises to keep,
And miles to go before I sleep
Out of the night that covers me,
Black as the pit from pole to pole,
By the shore of Gitchie Gumee,
By the shining Big-Sea-Water,
Water, water, every where,
And all the boards did shrink
I think that I shall never see
A poem lovely as a tree.
Mine eyes have seen the glory of the coming of the Lord
Shall I compare thee to a summers day
How do I love thee? Let me count the ways
Here's how to sign CONTEST:
Here's how to sign CHALLENGE:
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