Songs of Eretz Poetry Review is pleased to present “Green Flash” by F.J. Bergmann. Bergmann edits poetry for Mobius: The Journal of Social Change mobiusmagazine.com and imagines tragedies on or near exoplanets. In addition to periodic appearances in Songs of Eretz http://www.songsoferetz.com/search?q=Bergmann, her work appears irregularly in: Analog, Asimov's, Polu Texni, Pulp Literature, Silver Blade, and elsewhere. A Catalogue of the Further Suns won the 2017 Gold Line Press poetry chapbook contest.
Green Flash
F.J. Bergmann
it is said to happen in the great level wastes
waveless desert or trackless ocean
a christmastree sparkle at the far end of night
as darkness trickles away from the world
out of the molassesjar sky
just a glimpse of greenglass bottlerim
before the libation of light is poured
rosé dawn over the winy deep
the olivebranch promise appears
over the waters at the edge of vision
and is instantly withdrawn
watch for a sudden springleaf radiance
peridot, emerald, tourmaline
brightness described but never seen
Poet’s Notes: I've never seen a green flash. I've always wanted to. Sometimes, though, the descriptions of others' experiences take on an almost supernaturally lyrical quality, reminiscent of ghost stories that make me wonder whether the phenomenon actually exists.
Editor’s Note: This is an interesting, modern take on the traditional sonnet form. Bergmann’s attention to rhythm gives the piece a nice balladic feel. The hard rhyming of the last two lines is just right. I can envision Captain Sparrow reciting this to the approbation of his pirate crew.
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