Canoeing is magical in the
twilight of night and,
if you stay even later, a firefly may
come into sight!
Fireflies hug tree lines and,
weave in and out
as they dance!
So catching sight of a firefly
is a combination of
luck and great chance.
If you stay in your cottage and don’t venture outdoors,
you may never see a firefly
and experience the beauty and its strange lore.
Fireflies are drawn to the heat of the night
and, when it gets cold,
they disappear from sight.
So, get out of the cottage and into the night,
To see the fireflies dance!
Oh, what a beautiful sight!
Poem #9 by Ingrid Exner, Half Marathon 2020
The imagery you evoked in this poem is beautiful 🙂
Thanks Vijaya! I love canoeing and seeing the fireflies dance along the tree line <3 You have to stay awake as you see them best around 12 or 1 am…but it is worth it!
Love how you play with rhyme and imagery! Such a nice piece!
Thanks Siobhan! I love fireflies. They really are such magical little creatures. They always bring me back to childhood wonder! They are a treat to behold.
Love the rhyme and entrancing pull of the fireflies. Must be too hot in Texas because here I rarely see them. Well done!
Thanks Sandra! Fireflies love the heat and the humidity…it has to be a good combination of mugginess to draw them out. Thanks for commenting and liking my poem!
“If you stay in your cottage and don’t venture outdoors,
you may never see a firefly
and experience the beauty and its strange lore.”
This is so vivid; I love the cadence, rhyme, imagery and theme of this poem. Thank you for writing it! <3
Thanks for your kind words Meredith. I have been mesmerized and hypnotized by the dance of the fireflies since I was very young and they would fly out of the woods toward toward my lantern as I walked the path toward the bathroom while out camping. On those late evening walks, the dance (and company of the firefly was very reassuring. Their appearance while out paddling later in life added to the romance.
This has been a good year for fireflies in my yard. We sit on the solarium and watch them flicker. Last night it was still raining a bit and it was the most abundant group I’ve seen.
I love fireflies! I haven’t had a chace to see any this summer as I am going to bed earlier to wake up before and for sunrise.
This poem enchants, as if it doesn’t. The rhymes amplify it magic even more.
Thanks you Ofuma! I tend to use a lot of rhyming couplets and a simple rhyming scheme. However, I do this on purpsoe. When I studies poetry at the university level, I found out why people such as Blake used this wodnerful yet simplistic rhyming scheme…to invoke innocence and a childlike quality…to remind us of our childhood. And, this is what fireflies do for me.