Firefly

By Manivarna Nair

When the shoulders droop under the weight of crushed hopes,

And my head hurts like it is tied up by a thousand ropes,

I silently shed tears while staring at a laptop screen,

And bite back the rise of emotions that threaten to be seen,

Finally, I decide to give my red, aching eyes some rest,

And lie down, waiting to tumble into the darkness of my nest,

But I am not prepared to behold the scene in front of my eye

As I see a dark forest dazzling in the radiance of the night sky,

Streaks of green aurora lights flash through the trees,

And fireflies dance around leaves, swaying in the gentle breeze,

I keep walking deep into the woods when I see bubbles floating in the air,

As if in a trance, I open my hands and reach out to touch them with care,

A bubble comes to me as if to welcome me into its world,

And I see a glimpse of a child giggling as she twirled,

I run after her, chasing her smile to get one for me

But the bubbles float away from my hold, and it is then I see,

One firefly inside my closed fists scared but not flying away,

And I stare at it with bated breath, afraid to lead it out of my way,

just then all the bubbles come back to surround the firefly

And a smile stretches across my face, as a tear drops from the corner of my eye,

With that dream, I woke up, with the remnant of a curve on my face,

And I get ready to dive again into the world of survival and race,

This time however I feel less heavy than I have felt ever,

As I unlock the door of my heart in the hope to find a smile forever.

By Manivarna Nair