Summer School

Summer School

I remember lightning bugs
and the first time I saw them
a golden buzz blinking
in the black of the night

My cousins with a Bell jar
holes punched in the metal
catching the laggards
twisting lid tight

I felt myself mesmerized
by the fire in their belly
the twinkling one moment here
one moment done

Ah, the thrill of the capture
this delicate creature
but once I encased it
I wanted it gone

released to the nighttime sky
back to the starshine
because in the glass
was a prison and death

I ached when I saw her there
glow slowly fading
wings searching for freedom
as she struggled for breath

For here was a lesson learned
early in childhood
though I had not words for
this wisdom I'd learned:

In the act of possessing
you kill what you love
and in taking the fire
of another you burn