The Cento for November 5, 2019

Cento

1.

Amulet I took back with me to sleep,
his penis is like a dark flagpole
swaying in the wind of his dreams, there was not an inch of you
I didn’t cling to.

2.

Poison dart hit my heart.
I long to be Christian,
eating a tuna fish sandwich.

3.

God just wants to cuddle.
All the good poetry is taken by the moon,
another eucharist to swallow.

4.

Having coffee with Langston Hughes
and waiting for Ginsberg, a widow
emerges from a sleepless bed. The prophets were always a pain in the ass!

5.

In my own little way, I’m getting my turn to play.
If only my ass would stick out as far as my belly.

6.

Your desert is my silence.
What the fuck is empathy anyway?
I don’t know what to wear to the funeral, so I go naked.

7.

I told you, no me gusta the cheese!
I often wish our red flags could turn into green lights.

During every First Tuesdays open mic, we communally compose a cento using language taken from each open-mic reader’s offering. This cento is composed of lines from the work of: Elizabeth Wiethoff, Mallie Boman, Lori Lee, Peter Marra, Shams Momin, Herb Rubenstein, Marty Levine, Pat Duffy, Liza Lara, Julia Scudiero, Henry Sussman, Norman Stock, Lydia Chang, Ayo Inherhunwunwa.