A Cento From the First Half of Poetry at the /’tāb(ə)l/ on 6/3/2026
I’m a Leo:
The deep amber glow emanating from the bottles
The person in front of the behind
She’s Gizmo & Gremlin:
Causes bone and heart to vibrate in time
I’m guilty of loving others more than I’ve ever loved myself
Hunger follows me everywhere
The hound’s already unleashed in my heart
Greet his teeth with my own and growl
Freedom means I can choose when my time is up
I’m horrified learning how grief was the hunt
When it ends, who gets it all?
I will not write us a tragedy;
We accept all, reject nothing.
Paradise is a distant planet:
We furnished it from pain —
I want to go home now.
14 thoughts on "A Cento From the First Half of Poetry at the /’tāb(ə)l/ on 6/3/2026"
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Brilliant poem. Better since I was there at Kenwick Table to see it come together. Nice to see I made the cut, so to speak.
I pulled a Hunter and used everyone I heard before I had to go home. Lemme tell ya, Cathy was a challenge!
This is wonderful, and I’m honored to see a couple of my lines in here. Thank you so much for writing and including us in such a delightful poem!
Thank you for sharing so I could!
Lovvvvvvvve! Super fun to read – and like Geoff said – even better to be in the known from being there last night!
Way to make my day, poet! I love a good cento. So grateful for everyone’s contribution and your creation. See you all July 1!
This was my first cento – thankful for the table you set! I’m only sad I got to not feeling well and had to miss the second half! See you in July!
I really liked your poem last night. Cento always difficult, good work.
Really cool to see how you pulled all these pieces together from the readings last night. Loved it
Can’t wait to see you at Poezia on Tuesday!
Inspiring, now you have me wanting to write my first cento next time.
Honestly, it was SO FUN. Highly recommend!
Oh my goodness, this!!! This poem is a sweet onion, each layer I peel back is better than the next. “I’m guilty of loving others more than I ever loved myself” is what hooked me.
Thank you, Katrina. That’s so kind!
Just in case you didn’t know – a cento is a poem comprised of lines from other poems. So while the arrangement here is mine, the individual lines were written by others! 🙂