What Sparks Poetry is a serialized feature in which we invite poets to explore experiences and ideas that spark new poems. In our series, Object Lessons, poets meditate on the magical journey from object to poem via one of their own poems. Each Monday's delivery brings you the poem and an excerpt from the essay. 
Caulbearer
Yucca brevifolia
Luisa A. Igloria
Pheasant and nuthatch, five-petaled flower, 
emerald feather suspended in veils— 
we don’t know how long the world can hold
such specimens of tenderness, how far
the glacial drifts can ferry such tombs,
immaculate, before they themselves turn
into ghosts—Everything writhes before the dream
discards what it calculates for reduction:
and yet the yucca moth delivers its eggs 
inside the flower, even as leaves sharpen
their bayonet-points. At dusk, we scan the horizon
for anchors and tents; we lean into the wind
hungry for the brass tinkle of hawk bells 
and the trance-like drone of hegelung.
If we split these reeds down their length, 
how many of us can ride out the coming flood
before sunlight returns or we’ve softened into moss? 
from the book CAULBEARER / Black Lawrence Press 
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Cover image of Luisa A. Igloria's book, Caulbearer
What Sparks Poetry: Luisa A. Igloria on "Caulbearer"

"It is believed that the child, this caulbearer, is marked with a kind of otherworldly protection; some say, even second sight—because for no matter how short a time, it knew what it’s like to inhabit a space in its transit from one world to another. For me, what we bring into poems as well as the poem itself lives in this same kind of liminal territory. It’s as if in the poem we are allowed a veiled glimpse of visions and insights from feeling and remembrance, mingled with the facts of our real and imagined lives and circumstances." 
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Color headshot of a smiling Jericho Brown
Poet Jericho Brown Wins 2024 MacArthur Fellowship

"There are 22 new geniuses in America....Officially, they are the 2024 recipients of the John D. and Catherine T. MacArthur Foundation’s fellowships, better known as 'genius grants.' This year’s winners, announced Tuesday, range from ages 39 to 75, and their occupations include poet (Jericho Brown), violinist (Johnny Gandelsman), legal scholar (Dorothy Roberts), cabaret performer (Justin Vivian Bond) and disability activist (Alice Wong)." 

viaTHE WASHINGTON POST
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