Best Cento Poems
"Look what they've done to my song, Ma" ~ Melanie Saftka
Act I – Pie (One bright morning)
my muse just wants pie
I huffed, “Okay, give it a try.”
Pies begin with precision,
lovely decision.
I crave a treat, a sweet delight
one that brings a smile and makes my morning bright.
The popular apple and blackberry pie
Ah, just the thought makes me sigh.
Act 2 II – Ice-cream (Two hours later, on a yummy Sundae afternoon)
what fancy leads me on to dream
of sugar plums in frozen cream
I drool o'er yummy ice cream on my tongue
Thoughts of the tasty dish makes me so long
Betwixt lucky lips my eager tongue licks
A mouth watering afternoon dish fix
With a chuckle, he swore,
"I’ll just eat one more”.
It is late September again.
Under a warming sun, your hand holds my hand.
Now the horizon sits – a silent spectator.
When gently huffs the wind,
twilight cascades upon my skin.
We lay in misty vapor from
dusk’s bursting promise
as ink paints a panorama of primrose.
As luminous streams of stars
paint my poetic sky,
stirring my moon-swept soul,
soft fire is his eyes.
I glow through starlight,
embracing our marrow’s warmth.
Let the strongest of winds come -
our hand hold will never end.
three rhymed sestets written as a cento (see below)
PC I muse, while the heaving waves of life are rising,
SO earth’s rampant tides drag one deeper. Unsurprising
CR memories burn again, ‘ever brighter, higher,
NO serenades from elders gath’ring in a bonfire.
PC The sea of our mind has no mercy in its reach
AD Embrace these lines, imagine life without a beach?
NO Consider a spectacle tryst with my rice field.
CR The field of grass, I lay in once where I was healed
SH in a mixture of emerald and shamrock hues,
SO simply confined in momentary thoughts and views.
SH I wish to paint our landscape again with new breadth.
AD Embrace these lines to come back from ocean’s depths.
NO Lanterns glow near the plain, rivers blue twirl on clay,
AD It is a time to relax, to stay calm, to pray.
SH Green embraces every lake, tree tops kiss the sky
CR Sweet tender days on which we look back, unsure why
PC dangers still hide in dark corners unknown before.
SO Embrace these lines, hope to be washed upon the shore.
I used June 2016 poems written by these six PS poets.
Author's initials precede lines which are attributed to each.
My thanks to each one of you for your permission to use your pieces
to write mine.
The Sea of My Life – Paul Callus
Drowning in Tears – Silent One
Forever Bright – Carrie Richards
A Sunny Beach – Andrea Dietrich
Rice Fields – Nette Onclaud
Green is Serene – Sandra Haight
July 4, 2016
Cinematic overture
Masquerade ball macabre
Stories from the pages of history
The winter cemetery
Abracadabra
Mountains of Bavaria
Hungarian rhapsody
Pearls of perpetuity
Threads of deceit
Born with two left feet
The shakiest gun in the west
Dracula and the dinner guest
Chagall’s whimsy
Frost like filigree
A snowqueen tale
The end of a fairy tale
Sleeping with prince charming
A storm is brewing
Brokenhearted sunsets
Sky with no regrets
The fairy tale must end
The beginning and the end
Morning apparition
The resurrection
Wings of wonder
Mourning’s in the eye of the griever
Tribute to Kim Rodrigues - title and every line are borrowed titles of her poems. I actually have a longer version titled SEA OF CHAOS.
AP: 1st place 2022
Submitted on August 2, 2021 for contest A BRIAN STRAND RHYMED POETRY sponsored by BRIAN STRAND - RANKED 1ST
With this tear halfway to heaven I love you, goodbye
Hear me calling you falling into you dreaming of you
I surrender all the way if I could the colour of my love
At last come to me Immortality in unison to love you more
Hear me calling you falling into you dreaming of you
Faith in us forget me not think twice set me free I'm your angel
At last come to me Immortality in unison to love you more
The power of love seduces me Fly love can move mountains
Faith in us forget me not think twice set me free I'm your angel
I surrender all the way if I could the colour of my love
The power of love seduces me Fly love can move mountains
With this tear halfway to heaven I love you, goodbye
Celine Dion songs in order: With This Tear. Halfway To Heaven. I Love You, Goodbye. Calling You. Falling Into You. Dreaming Of You. I Surrender. All The Way. If I Could. The Colour Of My Love. At Last. Come To Me. Immortality. Unison. To Love You More. Faith. Us. Forget Me Not. Think Twice. Set Me Free. I'm Your Angel. The Power Of Love. Seduces Me. Fly. Love Can Move Mountains.
AP: Honorable Mention 2025
Submitted on April 11, 2018 for contest MUSIC PANTOUM sponsored by SILENT ONE - RANKED 3RD
I will wander through all the aeons and uncover all mysteries
As shepherd of the shining stars
Greek wisdom, the heavenly crescent moon
(Cento poem about Christ, using lines from the three surviving Gnostic/Naassene hymns)
fruit extravaganza
dream vacation
dinner bell
a word of caution
while time waits for no one
[using titles of my 5 recent poems]
AP: 1st place 2025
I saw American maiden with the choky breath
Panting sideways with the teary face .
I recently listned the siren of ambulance
And family sobs and I went past to her
Unfortunately, the ambulance left
It was a painful tragedy
Which made kins cried
I was anxious and tensed
When friends rosed questions about why
I could be rather be speechless
Eventhough I was questioned by my college mates
Which was unspoken incident which made
me numbed and fearful
it resulted in trauma and flashbacks
This is a painful tragedy
I could nt resist why
When I listened the wailing voices then
It made me cry
I could not forget the girl that
Was in my mind