fireflies

July 30, 2018 by Michael Guerin

as a boy i’d wait for summer evening skies
to be filled with fireflies
and gazed in wild wonder
as their tails lit up the night
and running barefoot on cool grass
would do my best to scoop
them into tiny hands
and lucky enough to find one in my grasp
would peek between gently clenched
fingers to watch their glow shine
on innocent palms yet to cause
harm in this fragile place
we reluctantly call home.