Childhood Fireflies | Teen Ink

Childhood Fireflies

July 12, 2013
By Schickster SILVER, Ithaca, New York
Schickster SILVER, Ithaca, New York
5 articles 0 photos 4 comments

Favorite Quote:
"You can't depend on your eyes when your imagination is out of focus." -Mark Twain


How high can you fly?
My cousin smears your cousins on her shirt to
make it glow.
Fly higher,
higher.
I like my shirts clean.
The higher I grow,
the higher you climb,
weaving through pines taller and older than
you or I will ever be.

How far can you fly?
I forget what summer feels like
until you arrive
wilted flowers ferment beneath bare feet
collecting grime as I
chase after you,
slowing with each year and each capture,
knowing more and more
it will not last.

How long can you stay?
As a child, I kept you in jam jars
jiggling in the grasp of stringy fingers.
That green light always brightest
outside of prison glass.
Time passed; jam jar numbers dwindled,
until suddenly, I stand and watch
as a skyful of fireflies
fly by my empty arms
Free to stay, flying far and high.


The author's comments:
Just reminiscing on childhood memories :)

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