Day 25 Cento

Trying to Write a Love Poem

I’ve walked there picking mushrooms at the edge of dread, but don’t be fooled.
What else was I supposed to start with?
 
All bright light and black wings,
the paper slept but the night woke me up
 
and now over death-struck Paris
the shrine lies open to the sky.
 
I was filigree and flame.
 
Love! That red disease
deals -- one -- imperial -- thunderbolt
 
Why is the word yes so brief?

But I was made for this: listening:

 
Sources: Adrienne Rich, Paisley Rekdal, Dorianne Laux, Fanny Howe, Anna Akhmatova, H.D., Rita Dove, Anne Sexton, Emily Dickinson, Vera Pavlova, Jean Valentine