Firefly Memories Poem by Jim Yerman

There was a light rain falling as I walked this morning…the weather was cool and calm
when I remembered a night just like this…years ago…in our backyard with my mom.

It was the first time I ever saw fireflies…I watched them flash and dance out in the rain
It's a memory that to this day still makes me smile…a memory that remains.

I remember that day as if it was yesterday…Mom looked up and smiled at me…
She said, "I'm glad I was here to witness your first firefly memory."

Mom had a unique way of looking at the world…it was a little odd and at the same time wise…
She saw memory as this endless meadow within our hearts…filled with fireflies.

She believed anytime an experience finds its way into our heart…
there is a firefly waiting patiently….
whose sole purpose is to take that experience…
and create a memory.

Each firefly has one memory to hold…and they take their job seriously…
ready to flash to life when we want to recall it…and sometimes…unexpectedly.

Mom believed some firefly memories last forever…while others have a shorter lifespan….
which is why, she always said, we need to make as many memories as we can.

That is why this morning's light rain brought a smile to my face
as this memory of Mom flashed before my eyes….
and I was thankful this memory appeared from out my field of fireflies.

Thankful for all the fireflies in that field…ready to undertake…
the job of capturing and holding any new memory I make…

And thankful for how old memories once captured
can flash into my mind with ease…
Like sitting with my mom in the rain long ago
making firefly memories.