Once Life Was A Firefly Poem by Savita Tyagi

Once Life was a firefly
Oh! The thrill and the joy I had in catching it
On dark nights in the misty thicket of wooded yard
I saw that little light popping here and there as if by magic
Holding my catch carefully in my cupped hands
I was mesmerized by the twinkle emanating from its body
All the mysteries of the world of which I knew nothing about
Were contained in its golden womb
Its accidental flight from my little hands
Was never too far to catch it again
I was a willing player in its game of hide and seek.

In my youth I flew on its wings
An earth star of silvery sheen
Even the sky in its infinity was too small
To contain me
In my grip was the lustrous life
And to catch a phrase from Vedas it felt like
“I am the stimulator of the tree of Universe
My glory is high as peaks of mountain…
Imperishable and undecaying am I.”

Today I feel like an ass carrying upon my back
The heavy weight of worn out longings
A weary traveler dragging its feet
Towards the unknown dwelling
Where mysterious fireflies still take birth
With my head bent downward I sense an impeller in me
Moving along with curious out look for the path-
Who sits there watching the spectacle?
Do you feel what I feel?
Or know any thing about the resting place.

June 2011