Firefly

Firefly
Originally uploaded by Saintbridge

I was five
and we caught fireflies
in a jar beneath a starry sky
in the valley one night

Dad's friend looked up at one
and said that if it ever fell
there would be light
for eight straight days

That's a lot to think about
when you're five
with just grownups outside
and toes in the wet grass
at night

Later that night
I think of that star
my fireflies now growing dim
in their jar

A train passes by
the rumble echoes across the yard
and into my room.

-- 1994