Poem-a-Day - "A Phosphorescence" by James Cervantes

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November 11, 2024 
 

A Phosphorescence

James Cervantes

I discovered phosphorescence one day

clearing pine needles from an acre plot

in the mountains. I raked and scratched

large piles, then became obsessed with the base

of one tree, raking harder and deeper until black,

matted clumps of needles came up to reveal a glow.

Fire, I thought, afraid for the forest. But no smoke,

no burn smells. There could be light without fire,

like that moment of warmth I mistook for fire,

a gentle touch on your arm that was light

and would be no more than that.

Copyright © 2024 by James Cervantes. Originally published in Poem-a-Day on November 11, 2024, by the Academy of American Poets.

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“‘A poem thirty-five years in the making,’ a blurb might read. In truth, my witnessing of ‘A Phosphorescence’ occurred thirty-five years ago, much as described in the poem’s first eight lines. Year after year, I would write out the experience but would then get stuck. Last year, I revisited the definition I found online: ‘light emitted by a substance without combustion or perceptible heat;’ [but this time I read its application] in physics: ‘the emission of radiation in a similar manner to fluorescence but on a longer timescale.’ So that emission continues after excitation ceases. Finally, I had the poem!”
—James Cervantes

James Cervantes
James Cervantes is the author of several poetry collections, including From Mr. Bondo’s Unshared Life (Hamilton Stone Editions, 2013) and Temporary Meaning (Hamilton Stone Editions, 2006), which was nominated for the Los Angeles Times Book Prize for Poetry. He lives in Tucson.
Mr. Bondo’s Unshared Life (Hamilton Stone Editions, 2013)
Mr. Bondo’s Unshared Life
(Hamilton Stone Editions, 2013) 

“Fallen Leaves” by Mary Cornelia Hartshorne
read more
From “Dissolve” [On limbs of slanted light] by Sherwin Bitsui

Thanks to Laura Tohe, author of Tséyi’/Deep in the Rock (University of Arizona Press, 2005), who curated Poem-a-Day for this month’s weekdays. Read or listen to a Q&A about Tohe’s curatorial approach and find out more about our Guest Editors for the year.
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