The boat cemetery (Cento)

The boat cemetery


Never shall I forget

The lengths they will go to      Women
on the way      Drawing lots             Children
of the same sea      Drawing lots

You brought this upon yourself
        The will of the waves

                The girl in the front row

      One red shoe

                        Little pieces of home

      The wounds you cannot see
God      An irrevocable decision     is not to blame

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The above lines, including the title of the cento, are a selection from the names of chapters in Dr. Pietro Bartolo's book Tears of Salt: A Doctor's Story. The final line comprises two chapter titles ("God is not to blame" and "An irrevocable decision") split in two.