Lightning Bug
Dusk falls,
and on the tips of bent blades
little glowing heartbeats rise
illuminating the darkness
Lanterns of love
hovering through the air
their tails set afire
lovers blinking night affair
Moons mini murmurs
levitations of light
pulses of passion
fashioned in flight
Golden stars of the land,
echo nights constellated sky,
astral illuminations,
of the stellar firefly
19. June 2006 um 12:27
Such wonderful imagery and such delicacy of thought..this is indeed in the true spirit of Basho!
:)
19. June 2006 um 12:48
Thank you Pincushion. I was inspired to write this poem after tending to some foliage outside my house at dusk with my family when we seen the first lightning bugs of the year begin their ascent.
19. June 2006 um 13:10
Lovely Travis. Always enjoyed those hot summer nights as a boy chasing fireflies until Mom called us home. Memories.
19. June 2006 um 13:45
Thank you Don. I have many great memories of these fireflies as well, though I’ve always called them lightning bugs. Up until recently I thought that the firefly and lightning bug were a different species. LOL.
19. June 2006 um 13:55
One thing I have never seen , alas, is a firefly :-(
Oh that and an Aurora Borealis/Australis.
MAybe one day…
19. June 2006 um 14:07
WOW! It’s amazing you’ve never seen a lightning bug Glenn! They come out when the sun starts to set. They very slowly float upwards, once in while lighting their tails. They are easy to catch and seem so magical and gentle.
19. June 2006 um 14:17
That they are Travis. I remember as a child pulling their lights off and they would glow for hours. What rotten things we do as children. But, they made a lovely mood ring at the time! We didn’t know them as fireflies either.
19. June 2006 um 14:25
Hi Shirley. My father used to always pinch their light off and stick it on my finger as a mood ring too. I never had the gutts to do it myself becuase it kind of grossed me out. Which a lot of people comment on me caring about that kind stuff since I used to be a Marine. Although, sometimes I did step on them and smear them on the ground to see there light glow smear as well. I know, that wasn’t very nice.
19. June 2006 um 14:44
Like I said, we were rotten little kids who had not learned to respect life. I would think the Marines would have enhanced your respect for life, not diminished it. It takes a strong man to show his soft side.
19. June 2006 um 15:25
Yes, that is correct Shirley. Not everyone realizes that though.
19. June 2006 um 16:24
I was shocked to watch one of my grandchildren pull the legs off some llittle bug or other. I tried to reprimand her saying something stupid like - how would you like it if someone pulled your legs right off your body! Of course she paid me no mind and I shut up when I remembered how many times I’ve done something similar as a kid.
Nowadays I cringe or at least am acutely aware of every little creature I kill, inadvertently or otherwise.
Nicely done, Travis and if you’ll forgive me for encroaching on your space here’s an old poem I wrote a while back that was based somewhat on a firefly theme:
Reverie
On flights of fancy I fly.
On spurs of moments
I take vacations
of mind
and spirit to places
aloft and places below, because
there are no curtains
to hide the worlds flagrant night.
And if I find relief
in that far reverie
would you like a jarful
like fireflies caught
in dusk’s bare light?
19. June 2006 um 16:36
Ron, Thank you for sharing this wonderful poem which compliments my own. My space is your space.
I know your feelings. I too, have changed likewise in my experience, not wanting to harm any creature. While some squash bugs without a thought under the impression that the bugs life is of no significance, we know better then to be so conceited.
19. June 2006 um 20:56
Sadly there are no fireflies here..but we do have glowworms :-)
I still say kill mosquitoes and fleas!
19. June 2006 um 21:34
Whoa! I’ve never seen a worm glow. argh, I mean, glowworm.
20. June 2006 um 07:57
Hi Travis,
Nice work here! Lightning bugs haven’t shown up yet in my neck of the woods. But I am looking forward to their arrival soon!
20. June 2006 um 08:14
Hi Mike, Thank you!
When they do show up with their lighted butts, greet them kindly.
5. July 2006 um 15:15
Hello Travis, I’ve been working my way through all the great entries in the carnival and wanted to let you know how great this is. Beautiful imagery and a nice even tempo, a wonderful choice for the ringing, take care,
Bob
5. July 2006 um 15:34
Thank you Bob! I’m glad you liked it!
6. July 2006 um 00:09
I have a tattoo (my only one, at age 47) of a lightning bug on my ankle. My most cherished memory of my little children growing up is of them chasing lightning bugs in the backyard with peanutbutter jars in the summer. We would let them loose in the house and sit in the dark to watch them.
Tanya
6. July 2006 um 07:48
Awww! That’s cute Tanya! It would be cool to see a picture of it.
15. July 2007 um 14:57
I to have fond memories of lightning bugs.I was also told by my new friend of the south that you can tell when it will rain by them. If they fly high no rain, low flying it will rain.It’s ashame that on Discovery channel they said that in 10 years they will disappear due to global warming. I can’t imagine a summer night without them.