ROCKING CHAIR WISDOM
written by: Mark Tulin
On a quiet night
with crickets chirping,
the older man relaxes
on a front-porch rocking chair,
watching beetles
with lanterns
light up the sky
Finally, at his age,
he knows better
not to chase after things,
and collect fireflies
in Mason jars
with punctured holes
in the lid
He doesn’t pull wings apart,
nor curious about how they look
up close—or feel the need
to see how the bug responds
to captivity
The man is wiser than that—
knows their blinking bulbs
are temporary,
to be valued and respected
just like his life—
and not to stop
the light from glowing,
but let it fly free.
Featured photo by CaptNemo on pixabay.com, and edited by the author.
Crow On The Wire 
Love it, thanks. Although I was never one to want to pull off wings (yikes!), and I have no rocker, I love the leisure of age to just sit and “be” with the world around me.
You’re welcome, Deborah. 🙂
Oh I definitely liked this one, Mark. So visual! And it reminds me of summer nights in Kentucky with the fireflies flying around and blinking on and off. How I cherished the memory of seeing them the first time. This poem brought that back.