Fireflies

Not yet!

We can’t go to sleep - it's too early!

It’s summer, school’s out,

And it’s not dark yet!

We wanna stay up for the fireworks!

No, not those!

Fourth of July is over,

And can we please tell Aunt Clara

To make anything else besides potato salad?

No, we don’t like the boom-boom type,

They scare the dogs

And hurt our ears, too.

Too bright, too annoying, just too much.

It upsets the bats, too,

And I’m pretty sure the baby bunnies

Are shaking under the quince tree.

That storm doesn’t like them much, either.

No, I mean the fireflies!

Did you notice?

We’ve got more in our yard

Than anyone else in town!

See?

We told you to stop using chemicals!

This is why.

And this is why the bats like us.

But the fireflies are only here for a short time,

And we like to wave to our friends

Every chance we get.

Look! Look!

That’s the first one I saw!

They’re here! They’re out!

Come, look!

Look, Daddy!

Green, yellow, greeny-yellow,

And every once in a while,

A blue one.

This is summer, Daddy.

Not riding around on your lawnmower,

Making sure the grass

Is precisely cut to an inch tall.

Where will the bunnies hide in that?

Where will the lady fireflies find a mate?

They don’t have wings, you know.

Have picnics all you want,

Take us to the pool to your heart’s content,

But when darkness falls,

Send the guests home-

Yes, even Aunt Clara

And her potato salad.

We wanna see the fireflies

Without her grumbling

About the mosquitoes.

Then go home, Aunt Clara,

And let the bats

Eat the mosquitoes in peace!

Our yard is for the fireflies,

Not picnics, not lawnmowers,

And certainly not potato salad.

Just turn off the porch lights,

And let’s watch the quiet fireworks

That don’t scare the dogs

In the nice dark

Of a summer’s night.