Cento

A cento is a poem made up entirely of lines or phrases taken from other poems or written sources. It is a form of collage poetry, where the poet creates a new piece by “patchworking” together existing lines. These borrowed lines are often chosen for their thematic resonance, sound, or meaning, and can be from a variety of poets, eras, or genres. While the cento does not typically involve original writing, it relies on the poet’s ability to create cohesion and new meaning from the fragments of others’ words.
Also known as a collage poem, the cento is an art form that challenges the poet to find a way to stitch together disparate pieces into a unified whole. The following Cento is from the poems by Sarah B. Royal “The Croaker” “The Rain” and “The Dirge”

The Croaker Rain Dirge

The brook is deep,
The sky is heavy—filled with rain,
The rain falls in sheets,
The winds, they moan a lonesome strain,

A thousand secrets shared—
Softly they lie, beneath the willow’s shade.
The hills are steep,
No sunlight breaks the endless gray.

Each drop a memory,
Hope, it fades as night holds sway.
Each puddle, an overflowing tear.
The echoes of their laughter slowly fade.

The wind will sigh,
Beneath the earth, the roots decay,
The sky is heavy,
The world turns cold, and we must stay,

laden with thoughts unsaid—
A breath of wind is a wisp in the air.
The trees will cry!
Forever bound by endless pain.

clouds cloaked in gray sadness,
dreams, once bright, are lost in vain.
as the earth holds its breath.
To remind the world—once they lingered here.