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lightning bugs
| Open Poetry #42 |
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lightning bugs |
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Midnitesun
since 2001-05-18
Posts 28647Gaia 
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Flickering lightning bugs zoom as if in a panic between flowering perennials. Mellow rain muffles the melody of restless wind chimes, enough that I may hear a solitary warbler’s lively aria sung from a telephone line perch. Two sleek robins hop about seeking tasty snacks in the plants underneath the dripping rain gutter. They are quickly challenged by the resident chipmunk whose road to home is the gutter downspout. The chipmunk prevails, his castle is safe. As the sky turns to ebony, all but the lightning bugs head for home, and another summer day becomes the past. |
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| © Copyright 2008 Kathleen Kacy Stafford - All Rights Reserved | |||
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jwesley Member Rara Avis
since 2000-04-30
Posts 7563Spring, Texas |
Wonderful, my friend....boy, do I miss them. We no longer see them in my area...pesticides are mostly the blame in an area this full of mankind (Houston, Texas area).... When first we moved here, we'd see them...20 some years later...no more... Miss them, I do. j. |
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Robert E. Jordan Member Rara Avis
since 2008-01-25
Posts 8541Philadelphia, Pennsylvania |
Yo Midnitesun, This is delightful. Another day in the great gutter downspout wars. I like it loads. Bobby |
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Midnitesun
since 2001-05-18
Posts 28647Gaia |
Jimmy, that is incredibly sad! Another example of how humans have messed up the eco-systems worldwide. Bobby, LOL, you gotta love those gutter wars! |
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XGarapanX Senior Member
since 2008-06-19
Posts 1435Antarctica |
Delightsome and delightful. ·´~`·»Garapan«·´~`· |
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The Lady Member Rara Avis
since 2005-12-26
Posts 7634The Southwest |
you've drawn a picture of summer child days Kacy a wonderful picture |
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passing shadows Member Empyrean
since 1999-08-26
Posts 45577displaced |
I can't remember the last time I saw a lightning bug...I think it was Kansas |
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Marchmadness Member Rara Avis
since 2007-09-16
Posts 9271So. El Monte, California |
I haven't seen a lightening bug for a very long time, How sad when you think about it. Pretty soon there won't be anyone left who even knows what one is and this poem will be even more precious. Ida |
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Margherita Member Seraphic
since 2003-02-08
Posts 22236Eternity |
Kacy, thank you from my heart for this beauty! Lightning bugs remind me of my youth ... but luckily they have reappeared now in certain areas here. You did an awesome job with this one and I will keep it! Love, Margherita  |
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kaile
since 2000-02-06
Posts 5146singapore |
is lightning bug similar to a firefly? in any case, compelling imagery! |
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OwlSA Member Rara Avis
since 2005-11-07
Posts 9347Durban, South Africa |
Oh, this is so me! And except for the lightning bugs (I don't know what they are) and the chipmunk (I have seen pictures, but we don't have them here), this could be my garden. What are lightning bugs? Perhaps we have them here, known by another name. Kacy, please can I place an order for at least a dozen more like this - Sister, that sentence doesn't explain much, but I need to sleep deeply for 10 minutes sorta now because I am fighting to stay awake - and I know you will know exactly what I mean. - Owl |
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Artic Wind Member Rara Avis
since 2007-09-16
Posts 8080Realm of Supernatural |
Love it!  ARCTIC WIND |
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Midnitesun
since 2001-05-18
Posts 28647Gaia |
Lightning bugs are also known as fireflies, though they are in the beetles family, not flies. In general, it is the males that flash, to attract a mate. The female usually sits on the vegetation low to the ground, waiting for just the right 'flasher' to catch her eye. The bio-luminescence is an enzyme reaction in the abdomen, and each species of these Coleoptera(order)has its own synchronized flashing pattern. More than you wanted to know, probably....LOL |
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secondhanddreampoet Member Ascendant
since 2006-11-07
Posts 6394a 'Universalist' ! |
This is a grand-fine 'slice' of eternal summer impressionism! serious, sustained applause!! |
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miscellanea Member Elite
since 2004-06-24
Posts 4060OH |
Midnitesun, What a keeper this is! When a poem slows my reading down to a slow walk, I know I'm in for a treat. Yours did just that, causing me to read it aloud and savor each image. How beautiful! |
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scoff Member
since 2008-07-04
Posts 71Georgia |
Ah, thank you taking me back to the wonder of my childhood. I hadn't thought of fireflies, and how fascinated with them I was in my youth, for a very long time. It was exquisite. Speak your truth quietly and clearly; |
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Midnitesun
since 2001-05-18
Posts 28647Gaia |
Bruce, thanks!!! misce, so slowing you down is good? grin, thanks for reading and commenting  welcome, scoff! so many people spray to get rid of every bug they see, that they've almost doomed billions of bug species to extinction. And when they go, so do flowers, birds, bees...and yes, eventually, the two legged 'upright-walking' self-centered species known as human. |
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kaile
since 2000-02-06
Posts 5146singapore |
thanks for the clarification. and yes, it's a delight to see even one firefly! keeping this.... |
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OwlSA Member Rara Avis
since 2005-11-07
Posts 9347Durban, South Africa |
No, no, no, no, no! Not at all more than I want to know - I have dozens of books on all sorts of aspects of nature! So Heng was right. They are fireflies. So we do have them here - right in my indigenous forest garden too, right below my bedroom window often. Cathy explained it perfectly - yes, your poem also slowed me down to a slow walk - when walking in the office or doing grocery shopping or the like I fly rather than walk - I don't see why I should walk if I can run (my son often says I should slow down to the speed of lightning - and he means in physical movement and in my thoughts!) - but in a nature reserve or a garden I stop to wonder at every plant or creature forgetting all time. Thanks for the clarifying the lightning bugs, Kacy. I am properly awake now - when I was in PIP earlier, sleep was hitting me in the face, but PIP was holding me enthralled and I was fighting it - but lost the battle and sleep was victorious - but the 10 minutes landed up being much longer than that. - Owl |
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Alison
since 2008-01-27
Posts 9318Lumpy oatmeal makes me crazy! |
Kacy, This is delightful. It's like looking out your window with you. Oh, oh! I was listening to music last night and was listening to a song by Theresa Bauer. She plays out at Chatanika Lodge mostly - and other places around town. She has a song about driving out to Chatanika and I was thinking of you. The song is "Chatanika Attitude" - wishing I could share it with you. Alison |
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ArtSolstice Member
since 2007-03-18
Posts 498 |
Midnitesun, this is wonderful! |
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Artic Wind Member Rara Avis
since 2007-09-16
Posts 8080Realm of Supernatural |
Coming in for another read Midnitesun! ARCTIC WIND |
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Midnitesun
since 2001-05-18
Posts 28647Gaia |
Alison, I really wish I could hear that Chatanika Attitude song! ArtSolstice, thank you!!! kaile and Diana, glad you came back and read the bug data. I really enjoy seeing those little beetles! Arctic,  |
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Richy Member Elite
since 2003-05-03
Posts 3050 |
Lightning on the wing Thats a beautiful thing Nature's free night lights. Kacy this poem had a glow, just like you. Rich |
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