Restlessness Cento

by Linda Laderman

I am three thoughts away from the grave. 
Alone, I sometimes see coffins under sail. 
Endlessness enfleshed in emerald & frost & shades 
I couldn’t name without further study. 
The gray air molds. Geraniums heat the alleys. 
Jasmine and gasoline undress the night. 
I don’t know what to think of first 
in the list of all the things that are disappearing: 
fishes, birds, trees, flowers, bees, and languages too. 
What ties me to this earth? 
All I want to do right now is sleep 

Cento line sources in order from: Traci Brimhall, Robert Haas, Lines 3&4: Joshua Bennett, Lines 5&6:Bert Myers, Lines 7,8,9: Ada Limón, Ilya Kaminsky, Elaine Sexton.

Linda Laderman is a Michigan poet and writer. Her poetry has appeared in, numerous literary journals, including Gyroscope, SWWIM, ONE ART, Thimble Literary Magazine, The Scapegoat Review, Rust &Moth, Third Wednesday, the Jackdaw Review, and Mom Egg Review. She is the 2023 recipient of Harbor Review’s Jewish Women’s Prize, and was recently nominated for a Pushcart Prize. Her mini-chapbook, "What I Didn't Know I Didn't Know," is published online at Harbor Review. For nearly a decade she was a docent at the Zekleman Holocaust Center near Detroit.


One response to “Restlessness Cento”

  1. Marion O'Neill Avatar
    Marion O’Neill

    Growing old is not for the weak. This poem is a bleak and sad story.

    Like

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