Tuesday, May 24, 2011

Illuminati

By Joseph Hesch

Saw you swing through the downspout of
floodlight in the backyard last evening.
I thought you were just another evening bug,
a red buzzer in zig-zag flight.
But you were saturated with radiance
after you zipped from the shower of photons.
I could see the glow of your afterburner
in the dark over by the shed.
Unlike the other bugs, you avoided
the porch’s cone of brightness,
confident out there in the dark.
You appeared to wear the crown
of the incandescent
Anti-moth.


Suddenly, you were joined by a host
of fiery friends, blinking messages
only your kind might comprehend.
I think I understood something
of what you were saying, though,
when I flipped off the switch
and joined you in the night.
I too became illuminated, aware that
when things are at their dimmest,
we must make our own light
to help us find the way,
to have confidence we aren't going
to be alone in the darkness.
Not for too long.

17 comments:

  1. sometimes we must make out own light, true that...and i love watching the fireflies in the summer...well penned one shot...

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  2. The more I read you, the more I like you.

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  3. love the anti moth...and yes - sometimes we just have to make our own light - and sometimes we make it with our poetry..

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  4. Loved the ending... good read.

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  5. I really like the descriptiveness and whole concept of what you have written. I can picture the fireflies flashing their lights in sequence in some language known only to themselves. I very much liked the hopeful message that you added: "when things are at their dimmest we must make our own light to help us find the way, to have confidence we aren't going to be alone in the darkness. Not for too long." A lovely thought beautifully worded.It cheered my whole day!!

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  6. Wow I just adored this piece. Being from the desert I didn't even see a firefly until my twenties when I visited Illinois. The first stanza took me back to that expression filled moment when I was startled by all these flickers in the sky. Then carrying that metaphorically into how we need to be our own light was superb. Much enjoyed ~ Rose

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  7. I really enjoyed this!

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  8. encouraging write. sometimes when people aren't there to cushion life's blows, nature is...

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  9. I could see them making their own light. I suppose we all try to copy them.

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  10. I'm not too keen on those nighttime bugs...in fact, I'm not friends with the daytime ones either...but I do like the messgae in this one.

    Nicely done.

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  11. Do you know, it was your poem that inspired mine? Lovely language you use in your poem Joe, and the message behind it is so true, we have to find our own path through the darkness, although it helps to have some lovely friends shining their own light from time to time.. x

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  12. Hi Joseph
    Enjoyed it very much my friend and liked your thoughts... and your lines....
    'I too became illuminated, aware that
    when things are at their dimmest,
    we must make our own light'
    ... touched me deeply...

    Shashi
    ॐ नमः शिवाय
    Om Namah Shivaya
    http://shadowdancingwithmind.blogspot.com/2011/05/whispers-buddha-and-life.html
    At Twitter @VerseEveryDay

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  13. I love it when that happens.... something in nature providing clarity of a thought we weren't even necessarily pondering. very hopeful thoughts of making our own light to help us on our way and loved " the incandescent Anti-moth"; very nice.

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  14. A beautiful poem. You are a keen observer of nature and have drawn a wonderful message here.

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  15. Joe, the biggest issue I had with my recent move, was leaving behind my beautiful back yard, that would light right up on early summer evenings as the Fireflies got busy doing what they had to do. This one is such a keeper for me, and with your permission, I will print off a copy, and, when I'm missing my little secret safe~spot where the fireflies would dance for me...I'll just have to have a read of this :) See how simple therapy can be! Truly taken with this one...Thank YOU!

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  16. To see brightness in the dark is a welcome feature of another human being.

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