Pray Upon a Firefly

With a tush

shining bright

each and every

summer night.

-L. Jorgensen (2004)

Believe it or not, it is June.

It's too cold to be June. It's been rainy and yucky.

But it is June. In a few days it will officially be summer. (In two weeks I will officially be eighteen!)

I love June. That's when the roses in my front yard start to bloom, and that's when the fireflies come out. I still go out into the backyard to catch fireflies. I love catching them and ripping off their glowing butts, or just pinching them so the butts glow permanantly.

But I've also started to do something. I think I started it when I was about 11 or 12. Don't ask me where I got the idea from because I don't remember.

When I catch a firefly, I cup my hands around it so it can't fly away. Then, I stop and say a quick prayer for the first person that comes to my mind. It could be someone I know, or someone I don't know. Sometimes, the first person that comes to my mind is an old friend I haven't seen since I was five. Other times, it's a close friend that I know is having a hard time with something. It doesn't mater who this person is. I just stop and pray for him/her.

Then, I let the firefly go.

Since it's June, the fireflies are starting to come out.

Maybe I should go out and catch some.