Strange Days Indeed
From my window at night
I watch a firefly flit around
my backyard embracing
this summer’s heat, reminding me
of the times when as a child I’d trap
such an insect inside a clear bottle
and proudly show my mother.
I sit here now with a Covid mask
atop my desk, staring at a computer
screen, repressing my lethargy
by going on Zoom to chat
with my socially-distanced siblings
and kin as well as friends with whom
I seldom come in contact.
Like that jarred firefly, I sit
here imprisoned with others
looking at me from an outside
universe, unable to touch let alone
embrace me. Mere weeks ago
that firefly and I were freed.
These are strange days indeed.
They are strange times, indeed! I like how the words we were to use became part of the metaphor and how we, too are like the ‘jarred firefly’.