Firefly

Margaret had a garden full of fireflies
She herded them at dusk and dawn
Before the sun or moon rise
They danced with her like children dance
Like drunken angels flicking lanterns at the sky

Till one day a hard wind drove through
And winter stayed, yes, winter stayed
The fireflies, they looked askance
They asked of her, they asked of her
What had gone askew with the man who always
Always hid from view

She sighed to them a well-worn sigh
And they limned her with light
The thing, she said, about the man who strays
From sight
Well I love him so and he loves me, but his soul’s
Grown tangled and far from free
His mind’s been poisoned by man’s war
He forgot what his body’s for

The fireflies swarmed amongst themselves
And made a terrifying swell
They said to Margaret, they might could help
To dull the pain, the pain to quell
‘Cause we know of another world
Where your love could wait
Painless and timeless for thee

Margaret sighed her well-worn sigh
Said that could be best
She walked upstairs with a comet tail of fireflies
Into the room where Justus lies
She made the coffee, took his hand
Said I’ll see soon in other lands
For you needn’t love this world so full of pain
If but for a while you pretend you do

The flicking lights, they came as one
And covered him in their soft glow and hum
They pulled the light right out of him and raised it
To the sky
He looked down upon, where Margaret alone lie
He said I spent my last breath in the light
In the light of your eyes
And I needn’t love this world so full of pain
For such a long while, I pretended to