Four April centos: No. 4

We have reached the final, fourth cento made of our last April lines. Thank you most kindly for your words!

Above all, I wish to congratulate every NaPoWriMo participant on reaching Day 30 and poem 30. See you again on another April 1st.

Next, I apologise for not asking your permission in advance. I know that this is the proper thing to do, but there were 96 of you – actually, 94: one is me, and one poet has two Day 30 poems included in today’s cento.

Why two? Because she expressed dissatisfaction at not being a part of my Day 28 cento where only 30 poets were included. I believe this gave me the idea to incorporate the final lines from all 96 poems linked to NaPoWriMo’s Day 30 into my four centos. As a reward, I chose the endings of two of her poems.

Of course, now there are some complaints again (actually, one), over copyrights. A proof that you cannot please all, but we knew that. However, all the rest of the feedback has been extremely positive so I’m happy that I’m doing this.

Today’s cento is more about content than form. That these lines go together was clear at a first glance. How wouldn’t they, seeing that all these 29 poetry month-closing lines are:

On writing 

Every April
I surprise myself1
writing every day 
waiting for anything worth 
noting then writing.2
I’d be a liar if I said
I do not love this game of words!3
Lyre Lyre pants on Fire!4
I wrote one word and then another word
and it just went on like that for a month.5
Many days felt too prosy
others weren’t as plodding6
which showed us how we started 
our beginning days, 
and how we would continue further7:

Whatever you do,
make sure they won’t understand.
Hide it.
Hide it well.8
Reject the AI,
there’s no app for this.9
Your mentor lives in you; don’t seek it in the world.10
Have thoughts of their own;
hidden in their text or pages
within themselves.11
And whatever your game, do it as well as you can.
Gig ‘em!12
Minutes! Seconds! All these years’ labour. You’re still pacing 
circles. Why behave clocklike? Still your two hands.13
pause. still. lines emerge to show
how to palinode14
Yes. Palinodes have their uses. Definitely.
Mea Culpa.15
And now, we are all more Nigerian. Amen to all of that.16

As of right now
my recliner has picked up the slack.17
There is room for all moods in this house now.  
I’m grateful for a place to let it all out.18
The days are getting longer
I can still walk
and think
and write.19
Is this a fresh start? Is this the end?20
It’s getting hot.
Happy end of the month.21

Finales are fleeting
And bear some repeating,
And endings are only a pause.22
Some endings are essential,
Some endings liberate you,
Some endings are a beginning,
A beginning to meet new ‘You’23
Quotable how? 
Quotable new 
Quotable now 
Quotable you!24
I know what I wrote; I do. 
I wrote what I wrote. I did. 
(I’m glad I left out the squid.)  
Oh, wait. Squid? 
Maybe in May, eh?25
Thanks Napowrimo, I’ll toast you a beer
2024 will soon come round, see you next year26,
and a feather again becomes a savage quill27
forging your place in the family of things.28

So step back, squint your eyes;
It looks just like a poem.29

1. Bruce Niedt: a hay(na)ku
2. Mary Beth Frezon: NaPoWriMo 2023 Day 30
3. Angela Smith (Flutterby): Game of words
4. Bryan Ens: Have we been interpreting it wrong?
5. Michael Jarmer: Thirty
6. Veronica Hosking: NaPoWriMo
7. Snigdha Choudhuri: Kitchen Love
8. Nataša Božić Grojić: Write a poem they won’t understand
9. Cassie Fogal
10. Manoj Krishnan: Let Your Soul Be Your Confidante
11. N. K. Hasen: Does A Book Read My Thoughts?
12. Bill Reynolds: To Be Fair—
13. Alana Prochuk: Clocklike (Alana’s blog is currently set to private.)
14. Arti Jain: how to palinode
15. Amita Sarjit Ahluwalia: PALINODES HAVE THEIR USES
16. Graham Parker: NaPoWriMo 2023, Day 30
17. Kim Beautifleye Boddie: I take it back
18. Farah Lawal Harris: Retraction Re: Sad Poetry
19. Eric Erb (Erbiage): The streets here are not straight
20. Amita Sarjit Ahluwalia: CLOVEN
21. Manja Maksimovič: Amazing discovery
22. S. G. Liput: Disenchanted (2022)
23. Vandana Bhasin: An End or a Beginning
24. Meg Sump: “Every quotable quote came from an aggrieved party”
25. Ron. Lavalette: The Sum-Up
26. Phil Tongue: See you next year
27. Kim M. Russell: The Poet Gives Up
28. Selma Martin: Odd Ode For You To Decode
29. Catching Lines: Paint Poem

Still your two hands. Piran, Slovenia, the family of things.

Four April centos:

• No. 1: Future vs past
• No. 2: Life
• No. 3: Bad sad mad
• No. 4: On writing (this post)

Three previous NaPoWriMo centos:

• Day 28, 2023: Index 2023
• Day 30, 2022: Magic cento
• Day 16, 2019: Art likes to make more of itself