Field of Fireflies

Never did see a lightning bug until I moved here
and I've lived everywhere
Until here,
they were just a fairy tale

Even through a cloudy lens of heartache and confusion
they light up the summer sky

I learned how to catch them-
always catch and release
No jars, no lids
No watching as the sparks die away

Sitting at dusk and overlooking
the neighborhood of my new life,
she said that in some places there are
whole fields of fireflies

That's where I wanna go

I need a night-time road trip
Steal away into inky blackness and follow the lights down south
That's where they are, supposedly
These whole fields of fireflies

My face will reflect their light
I'll close the car door quietly,
because it'll be one of those sacred, hushed moments
that only a fool would disturb

I will stand, surrounded by silent, iridescent wings
Lightning will strike against my skin
Again and again and again
Until I am whole, until I am healed

It's silly, I know
Thinking finding a field of fireflies
will make everything okay
I know it won't, really-
but I like to pretend

It's a Holy Grail,
these floating lanterns
Maybe only a journey of the heart,
but important nonetheless

Just leave this jar for a time,
see how far my sparks will go
Remember how to fly again

Follow the darkness to find the lightning-
instead of sitting at my window,
waiting for something new to strike

Comments

  1. JustinJune 27, 2011 at 2:05 PM

    Painful and beautiful. The emotion in your writing is always so palpable. More! More!

    ReplyDelete
  2. The AntagonistJune 27, 2011 at 10:29 PM

    i second that! this one actually made me cry! you are amazing!

    ReplyDelete
  3. MariaJuly 7, 2011 at 12:52 PM

    Come see me in Kentucky. We have fields of fireflies. We can watch them and catch poems together.

    ReplyDelete

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