NaPoWRiMo 2022 - Day 30

 April 30, 2022 - write a cento. This is a poem that is made up of lines taken from other poems. 

Unbearable Weight 

Love is just the retaliation of light
That filled up the evening
The sky a copper pot blackened, picked clean of puchero

Love me in the lightest part
I told him as we kissed

The morning shadows wear away,
a bit more battered than before, a bit less joy
Remains of cement fall
I broke it in half as a decent sacrifice.
Should have known to leave well enough alone;

I tell him I will try to fall out of
love with the hands wide open, love
In ways we could never
together; each alone, content, and free
over for another year
the ache of marriage

Thanks to:

Claustrophilia BY ALICE FULTON

Valentine BY DONALD BRITTON

February Sky BY BRUCE SMITH

A Man's Requirements BY ELIZABETH BARRETT BROWNING

the smell BY EMELIHTER KIHLENG

A Lecture upon the Shadow BY JOHN DONNE

Chronic BY D. A. POWELL

Night Magic (Blue Jester) BY LORNA DEE CERVANTES

Another Insane Devotion  BY GERALD STERN

Waiting for This Story to End Before I Begin Another BY JAN HELLER LEVI

The Flurry BY SHARON OLDS

To have without holding BY MARGE PIERCY

Did It Ever Occur to You That Maybe You’re Falling in Love? BY AILISH HOPPER

Conversation with Slugs and Sarah  BY JENNIFER CHANG

The Final Poem LEON STEVENS

The Ache of Marriage BY DENISE LEVERTOV