Return to Florence by Cyrus Cassells

View this email on a browser Forward to a friend November 19, 2014   Return to Florence   Cyrus Cassells

How do I convey the shoring gold at the core of the Florentine bells’ commingled chimes?   Vast as a suddenly revealed field of wheat, that up-and-away gold is equivalent to the match-burst morning I returned, intent as doubting Thomas, to my old classroom terrace, open to the showy, blue yes of the bustling Arno, to my timeless, sun-laved Basilica of Santo Spirito, and discovered ebullient citizens reciting, at a hundred different posts, the same unbetraying passage of Dante’s Paradise.            Copyright © 2014 by Cyrus Cassells. Used with permission of the author. About This Poem   “This poem is a short joyous celebration of my return to my Italian language school in Florence, after twenty-one years, only to discover an amazing, in-progress celebration of Dante. There was definitely an air of hometown pride and ‘local boy makes good’ that made this group recitation (with some folks in the flowing red robes of the revered poet) both a magical and a moving occasion.” —Cyrus Cassells   Cyrus Cassells is the author of The Crossed-Out Swastika (Copper Canyon Press, 2012). He teaches at Texas State University and lives in Austin, Texas. Most Recent Book by Cassells   The Crossed-Out Swastika (Copper Canyon Press, 2012) "Manifest Destiny" by Cynthia Lowen "Trip Hop" by Geoffrey Brock "Flying" by Sarah Arvio Poem-a-Day   Launched during National Poetry Month in 2006, Poem-a-Day features new and previously unpublished poems by contemporary poets on weekdays and classic poems on weekends. Thanks for being a part of the Academy of American Poets community. To learn about other programs, including National Poetry Month, Poem in Your Pocket Day, the annual Poets Forum, and more, visit Poets.org.   You are receiving this e-mail because you elected to subscribe to our mailing list. If you would like to unsubscribe, please click here.   © Academy of American Poets 75 Maiden Lane, Suite 901, New York, NY 10038