Fireflies flicker and light the night
on my walk home through the wood
after a day's fun in the sun
thinking summer should always feel this good
and they look like nymphs to me
dancing quietly on the breeze
flitting hither thither and yon
between the softly-moonlit trees
sending signals to one another
before the dawn and it's too late
like tiny bioluminescent Aldis lamps
flashing to find the perfect mate
luciferin in
abdomen of firefly
glows without fire.
Luciferin in
abdomen of
glowworm with
air -contact
forms warm glow .
fireflies fly
without fire.
FIREFLY
Luciferin in
abdomen of a firefly
reacting with air
forming warm glow of glowworm.
Firefly without any fire.
03/14/22
First Place
Firefly Tanka
Contest by. JCB Brul
Bite size poem no.44
Contest by Line Gauthier
Luciferin Flies
Swarms of them form now—
An evil portent for sure!
Shades of illusion . . .
An evil that’s palpable . . .
Now’s your last chance to escape!
Gary Bateman, Copyright © All Rights Reserved
November 2, 2018 (Tanka)
M and M ...
bitter chocolate Exodus groaning
Desert vile hope
melting in the fetter-free hands
Wilderness wandering lust ... Egyptian longing
Some wanting to shortly shackle return
to the chains of long captivity
Be slave pawns in Pharaoh’s wicked plans,
such a reprobate pity
M and M
death yearnings —
The Living God,
those err tomb walkers chose to withstand
Murmuring ...
desiring evil, carnal things
Muttering ...
hatred for the daily, manna offering
M and M
Brash Luciferin arm unatoned,
vocal stones
hidden hand thrown
Cast angrily without any godly fear,
the fiery serpent
bit the deaf complainers in the ear
M and M ...
dark chocolate moaning
Godless cries drowning
in the desert sea
The Rock turned the dry land
into miry sand
Quickly
putting the sinking souls
in the smoldering place
they beggarly wanted to be
Dark Shadows
A grim place where
you dare not go
in your dreams
for “spirits” there
know all about
your anguish
and
your fears
as the sum of all
bad things
you have
done and hidden
from others in life
and
it is there
in this realm of the
uncanny and evil
those
dark spots
indelibly marking
your soul—
shall receive their
due measure
and so—
hold your tears
face your fears
accept your fate
for “spirits” there
shall judge thy fate
and they . . .
shall not wait
nor . . .
shall they care
pray you wake
now
to end this dream
Luciferin flies
now swarm and swirl
above and around
illuminating a path
in these deep—
Dark Shadows
awake now . . .
awake now . . .
awake now . . .
The Dark One Comes!
his judgment
shall be . . .
swift
and
without
any
mercy
this is your last chance . . .
awake now!
Gary Bateman, Copyright © All Rights Reserved
March 22, 2018 (Free Verse)
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