tear sodden matches
dry salty in the sun
igniting brilliantly
a fire within
illuminating flames without
for dormant the heat lies
through winters cruelest months
’till touch of a rose’s scented kiss
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I N G R E D I E N T S :
1 ounce powdered potassium nitrate
1/2 ounce minium
1/2 ounce powdered gum arabic
1 dram phosphorus
saffron
cardboard
P R E P A R A T I O N :
Ther gum arabic is dissolved in enough hot water to form a paste that is not too thick; when the paste is ready, the phosphorus is added and dissolved into it, and the same is done with the potassium nitrate. Then enough minium is added to color the mixture.
Now that you have the phosphorus mixture, the next step is to prepare the cardboard for the matches. Dissolve a pound of potassium nitrate in a pound of water, stir in a little saffron to add color, and dip the cardboard in this solution. When it dries, cut the cardboard into narrow strips and place a little of the phosphorus mixture on the end of each strip. Allow the matches to dry, buried in the sand.
A N E X P E R I M E N T :
“While phosphorus doesn’t combine with oxygen to burn at ordinary temperatures, it does burst into flame very rapidly at an elevated temperature…”
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“The doctor placed a small amount of phosphorus in a tube that was closed at one end and full of mercury. He melted the phosphorus by holding the tube over the flame of a candle. Then, using a small bell jar containing oxygen, he transferred the gas to the jar very, very slowly. When the oxygen reached the top of the jar, where it encountered the melted phosphorus, and explosion occurred, brilliant, instantaneous, like a flash of lightening.”
“As you see, within our bodies each of us has the elements needed to produce phosphorus…each of us is born with a box of matches inside us but we can’t strike them all by ourselves; just as in the experiment, we need oxygen and a candle to help. In this case, the oxygen, for example, would come from the breath of the person you love; the candle could be any kind of food, music, caress, word, or sound that engenders the explosion that lights one of the matches. For a moment we are dazzled by an intense emotion. A pleasant warmth grows within us, fading slowly as time goes by, until a new explosion comes along to revive. Each person has to discover what will set off those explosions in order to live, since the combustion that occurs when one of them is ignited is what nourishes the soul. That fire, in short, is its food. If one doesn’t find out in time what will set off these explosions, the box of matches dampens, and not a single match will ever be lighted.”
” If that happens, the soul flees from the body and goes to wander among the deepest shades, trying in vain to find food to nourish itself, unaware that only the body it left behind, cold and defenseless, is capable of providing that food.”
“That’s why it’s important to keep your distance from people who have frigid breath. Just their presence can put out the most intense fire, with results we’re familiar with. If we stay a good distance away from those people, it’s easier to protect ourselves from being extinguished.”
There are many ways to dry out a box of damp matches, but you can be sure, there is a cure.”
Excerpt:
Like Water for Chocolate
Laura Esquirel
