By Elaine Magliaro

The following poem, which I wrote several years ago, is called a CENTO. I am posting it today in memory of Brandi Nicole Stanley.

From the Academy of American Poets:

From the Latin word for “patchwork,” the cento (or collage poem) is a poetic form made up of lines from poems by other poets. Though poets often borrow lines from other writers and mix them in with their own, a true cento is composed entirely of lines from other sources. Early examples can be found in the work of Homer and Virgil.

A Poem for Charlton
(In memory of Brandi Nicole Stanley “Celtic Lassie” 1988 – 2015)

Have you ever found something beautiful, and maybe just in time?
Lift up your lovely eyes and look.
I’m going to somewhere gentle.
I have a secret power, and
I can fly to where the sky begins…
Into the white fire of a great mystery,
Feel stars and sun and bells singing,
Swing through the shadows like warm gray whispers…
Spinning and dancing.
I rest in the grace of the world, and am free…
And I consider eternity another possibility.

Have you ever found something beautiful, and maybe just in time?
From How Turtles Come to Spend the Winter in the Aquarium, Then Are Flown South and Released Back into the Sea by Mary Oliver

Lift up your lovely eyes and look.
From Wind Pictures by Mary O’Neill

I’m going to somewhere gentle.
From Going Somewhere by Felice Holman

I have a secret power, and
From Sunflower Seed by Lilian Moore

I can fly to where the sky begins…
From Finders-Keepers by Cicely Barnes

Into the white fire of a great mystery,
From The Ponds by Mary Oliver

Feel stars and sun and bells singing,
From A Little Girl’s Poem by Gwendolyn Brooks

Swing through the shadows like warm gray whispers…
From Mouse Music by Dahlov Ipcar

Spinning and dancing.
From Dear Snow by Takayo Noda

I rest in the grace of the world, and am free…
From The Peace of Wild Things by Wendell Berry

And I consider eternity another possibility.
From When Death Comes by Mary Oliver

Rest in peace, Brandi Nicole Stanley. You will be remembered.