Poem-a-Day - "The Flame Tree" by Evelyn Flores

Facebook
Twitter
Instagram
May 9, 2022 

The Flame Tree

Evelyn Flores

My neighbor has decided to poison the flame tree.
He is right, of course.
The tree is over 20 years old, huge, spreading,
and the termites have worn jagged roads clear to its top.
It’s clearly a danger
tilting toward our house—
some fickle wind
my neighbor says could blow it over. 

Every fañomnåkan, it sends out its bursts of orange blossoms;
it blooms and blooms and blooms relentlessly,
the flares it sends shooting out into space
more stunning than fireworks 
through the window

where my mother
riveted to a bed, doomed by her body to a colorless spot, 
gazes out, her head on a pillow—
might have seemed like forever to her who used to climb green mountain sides
and watches that tree full of sparrows
chittering
chattering
flitting here and there
and the outlandish blazing petals
steadfastly singing against the blue sky.

My neighbor, true to his word,
injected a poisonous brew bought at Home Depot into the trunk of the tree,
the toxic river
traveling up up up following the termite trails to the heart 
of the fire.

He is right, of course.

The tree came back the following year,
its clusters unflinchingly parading their bursts of rebellious orange.
But the poison had done its work—
see, where there was a canopy of flames
there are now just a handful here and there,
one spray in particular desperately
reaching out 
like a fist full of beauty 
to the window

where she 
used to watch for its return.

Copyright © 2022 by Evelyn Flores. Originally published in Poem-a-Day on May 9, 2022, by the Academy of American Poets.

Subscribe to the Poem-a-Day Podcast 

  

“As it had been for the rest of the world, it had been a year of death and dying for us in the wake of the virus. On an island like Guåhan where families are connected in many different ways, we walked about in a state of shock that this could be happening. Then it was that my neighbor leaning across the fence talked about poisoning the flame tree. Although it made sense, something inside resisted. But it was done. Dying and living came together as I watched that courageous tree refuse to die. We would go on. The beautiful would insist. That’s when the poem came.”
Evelyn Flores

Evelyn Flores is an Indigenous CHamoru poet and the co-editor of Indigenous Literatures from Micronesia (University of Hawaiʻi Press, 2019). She is a professor of Pacific Island literature at the University of Guam, where she lives. 
Indigenous Literatures from Micronesia
(University of Hawaiʻi Press, 2018)

“The Life of Trees” by Dorianne Laux
read more

“Like a Curtain” by Jan Freeman
read more

Thanks to Brandy Nālani McDougall, author of The Salt-Wind: Ka Makani Pa‘Akai (Kuleana ‘Oiwi Press, 2008), who curated Poem-a-Day for this month’s weekdays. Listen to a Q&A about McDougall’s curatorial approach and find out more about our guest editors for the year
This free, daily series is made possible by our readers. If you’re able, please consider donating to support this work.
Become a monthly sustainer
join
Make a one-time gift
donate
From Our Advertisers
Copyright © 2022 The Academy of American Poets, All rights reserved.
You are receiving this email because you opted in via our website.

Our mailing address is:
The Academy of American Poets
75 Maiden Lane
St #901
New York, NY 10038

Add us to your address book


View this email in your browser

Want to change how you receive these emails?
You can update your preferences or unsubscribe from this list.

Older messages

"[The city breaks in houses to the sea, uneasy with waves,]" by Charles Reznikoff

Sunday, May 8, 2022

The city breaks in houses to the sea, uneasy with waves, Facebook Twitter Instagram Poem-a-Day is reader-supported. Your gift today will help the Academy of American Poets continue to publish the work

"Do/Do Not" by Nisha Atalie

Saturday, May 7, 2022

I sniff the blooming tiger lily, / two tongues sprung open Facebook Twitter Instagram Poem-a-Day is reader-supported. Make a special gift this National Poetry Month to share poems year-round and help

"For Mauna a Wākea" by Jamaica Heolimeleikalani Osorio

Friday, May 6, 2022

It's been 300 days since I first laid in your arms Facebook Twitter Instagram Support Poem-a-Day May 6, 2022 For Mauna a Wākea Jamaica Heolimeleikalani Osorio May 2020 It's been 300 days since

Dear Poet Deadline Extension & Poems for Mother's Day

Thursday, May 5, 2022

Plus browse poems Asian/Pacific American Heritage Month and graduation Facebook Twitter Instagram May 2022 We are extending the deadline for Dear Poet 2022! Every National Poetry Month, we present Dear

from "What kind of times are these?" by Penina Ava Taesali

Thursday, May 5, 2022

Virus sets fire after fire blazing the eco of the monarch trees Facebook Twitter Instagram Support Poem-a-Day May 5, 2022 from “What kind of times are these?” Penina Ava Taesali 2 Virus sets fire after

You Might Also Like

Victoria Beckham & Daughter Harper Wore The Prettiest Matching Looks On The Red Carpet

Friday, November 8, 2024

Like mother like daughter. The Zoe Report Daily The Zoe Report 11.7.2024 Victoria Beckham & Daughter Harper Wore The Prettiest Matching Looks On The Red Carpet (Celebrity) Victoria Beckham &

The Best 7-Minute Workouts

Friday, November 8, 2024

Mens Health Shop logo Torch fat and build muscle in 7 minutes The most efficient exercises for weight loss - Men's Health 7-Minute Workouts for Fat Burn Are you tough enough to handle these 7-

'Theme' Every Work Day for a More Productive Week

Thursday, November 7, 2024

Don't Delete Your X Account (Do This Instead). Every day should have a specific focus when you're working on something big. Not displaying correctly? View this newsletter online. TODAY'S

Selena Gomez’s Cleavage-Baring “Cheugy” Dress Was Dazzling

Thursday, November 7, 2024

Plus, Tyla's tiger print French mani, the 'Golden Bachelor' effect, your horoscope, & more. Nov. 7, 2024 Bustle Daily Gerry Turner, who led the successful first season of 'The

1.5C is dead. The climate fight isn’t.

Thursday, November 7, 2024

Trump's re-election is “the final nail in the coffin” for the Paris Agreement's North Star goal, nine experts told HEATED. But we can still limit the damage. ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏

'Say Nothing' Is a Fearless Adaptation of a Remarkable Book

Thursday, November 7, 2024

Today in style, self, culture, and power. The Cut November 7, 2024 TV Say Nothing Is a Fearless Adaptation of a Remarkable Book Missing Derry Girls? Try FX's captivating series about the Troubles

Update from The Weekly Wrap

Thursday, November 7, 2024

*deep breath* ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏

Poems and resources for November

Thursday, November 7, 2024

Curated for Thanksgiving, Native American Heritage Month, and more Facebook Twitter Instagram November 2024 poems to read and share November is Native American Heritage Month. Celebrate with the

Let It Go

Thursday, November 7, 2024

Back at home ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏

Let It Go

Thursday, November 7, 2024

Back at home ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏