Witness<\/p>\n
By<\/p>\n
Jennifer Angelina Petro<\/p>\n
<\/p>\n
<\/p>\n
When you stop
\nAnd think about it,
\nThe idea is absurd:<\/p>\n
Beetles that light up.
\nBioluminescence
\nThey call it.<\/p>\n
I call it utterly and phantasmagorically
\nMiraculous.<\/p>\n
Along the river banks
\nOf the jungles of Malaysia,
\nFireflies synchronize
\nTheir flashing lights;
\nIn the town of Donsol
\nIn the Philippines,
\nFireflies stay around
\nAll year, coexisting
\nWith the locals, like
\nEccentric sentinels;
\nIn the Great Smoky Mountains
\nOf Tennessee,
\nFireflies have been seen blinking in unison.<\/p>\n
If you are a believer
\nIn doubt and darkness,
\nIf you partake of the white bread
\nOf theorized negativity,
\nIf you harbor any spiritual misgivings
\nThen stop and think about this
\nOutlandish phenomenon
\nOccurring in backyards and fields
\nAround the world, better yet
\nStop and see it for yourself.
\nAnd once you do, ask yourself:<\/p>\n
Can I really keep up this charade?
\nCan I really keep myself
\nFrom swooning with devotion and wonder?<\/p>\n
There are so many sorrows in the world, you say–\u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 And rightly so–so many injustices–who am I to be happy?<\/p>\n
I am not suggesting ignoring the wrongs, or doing nothing about them.<\/p>\n
All I am saying is fireflies exist, and that you are allowed to be happy.<\/p>\n
Why not allow these little,
\nAvant-garde angels lift you,
\nIlluminate you, and save you
\nFrom the cold, dry emptiness
\nOf only seeing the dark.<\/p>\n
Try.<\/p>\n
Try for your own sake
\nAnd for the sake of the future:<\/p>\n
Stand on the edge
\nOf a cornfield at night
\nIn deep July, or find a field, backyard, or woods
\nHumming with mystery, and simply be
\nA witness to the dazzling carnival
\nHappening in the tree tops,
\nSkimming the dark grass, bobbing
\nUp and down in the cool, moist air, like
\nStrings of moving green Christmas lights.
\nSee these little beetles with their lovely
\nBlinking bellies, and allow yourself
\nTo blossom, like
\nA night gladiolus, sending the fragrance
\nOf your newly found faith
\nInto the world.<\/p>\n
Go ahead.<\/p>\n
Be amazed,<\/p>\n
And watch everything<\/p>\n
Around you,
\nAnd within you,<\/p>\n
Break open
\nInto light.<\/p>\n
<\/p>\n
<\/p>\n
<\/p>\n