I lunge for the window

Suffocating under the panic of the cottage that flooded and the school that burned

Exhausted by lessons only half learned

Studying again.by the dim light of a firefly.

 

Insufficient to bring relief to the eye

Even now as you grow weary

And lethargy sets in

You understand a little more clearly

That though their light may be dim

It has an agenda – to attract mates or prey

Something you should try to remember –

And you knew not which because neither did they.

 

The courage for a decision appeared to be Dutch

Hidden in the bottle now in their clutch

A strange heat rises under the gaze of their eye

And you learn once again to fear the firefly.