literature

Coyote's Fireflies

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Literature Text

A pregnant moon lounges, smiling,
in an ink-dark sky.

Coyote watches fireflies
dance across the breeze, 
listening as they complain.

"Moon Mother's so pretty;
I want her to see me!"

"Stay still,
lightning bug,
stay still
so I can see you!"

But firefly light is unstable
and little bugs get swept away 
with the smallest move.

With strained eyes
and a tired heart,
Coyote tries for weeks
to keep the fireflies 
from fading.

"Look at Moon Mother,
little flame friends!
Night after night,
she is constant;
why can't you be?"

Coyote heaves a sigh
and little fireflies,
burning and blinking and caught on his breath,
trail up, up, up...

"Little bugs, little bugs,
I can't see you at all!"
Coyote cries, squinting at the sky,
but the moon,
glowing at full term,
is too bright to see around.
"Moon Mother, Moon Mother,
you are too bright!
Why don't you go home,
get off your feet for one night?
Let my firefly friends
take over your light!"

But Moon Mother doesn't reply.

For nights, Coyote cries and
watches from the ground,
cursing the fireflies for being so easy
to blow around,
begging them to please, please
come back down.

But firefly voices are fragile
and Coyote can't hear them
telling him to wait,
to watch,
to just wait.

"Little friends, little friends,
why did you have to go?
Come back, please, come back--
I don't like being alone."

And Coyote throws back his head
and opens his mouth
and he howls
and he howls
and he howls.

Nights later still, his voice almost gone,
Coyote opens his eyes
and ends his song...
and notices, finally,
that Moon Mother is gone.

Now, on the full moon,
Coyote sings, but not in mourning.

Moon Mother will fade
and go dark once more,
and his firefly friends
will come out to play
for not one night,
but three,
while she rests her swollen, tired feet.

:iconglory-be-project: Day 31

This is for Khaimin's Contest, which is ending tonight.

OBVIOUSLY I based this off two of the three prompts:  Mythology (specifically, the Coyote stories) and the stars.

January 31st, 2014
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