PDA

View Full Version : The Lightning Bug



Colin Brand
07-20-2015, 11:46 AM
While camping this weekend I was sitting on a hillside and thought about writing this one. I could really use some help with my descriptions so any input you guys would like to give me would be great. Thanks in advance. I feel like I need a stronger beginning/ending and more vivid imagery in this one. Let me know what you guys think and what you think I should change.

I stare out into the midnight sky,
an abyss lit by a starry night.
A wisp of light shoots across my eye.
A lightning bug has taken flight.
At the edge of the ravine chimes another light,
a symphony of tiny bugs have begun to play.
One by one, but not at the same time,
in imperfect harmony,
softly and slowly caressing my every sense.
Neon green lights scatter across an open field,
on and off they shine,
floating through the ambient air.
Each one a small crystalline flask,
glittering; a bombardment of miniature fireworks.
That's when you know a lightning bug has taken flight.

pyrophile
07-31-2015, 05:10 PM
Maybe instead of "imperfect", you should use "disjointed". Ironically, it flows better that way.
"softly and slowly caressing my every sense" --> "softly caressing my every sense".

Why do you give up on the rhyme? Is that intentional?

tailor STATELY
10-07-2015, 02:08 AM
Your poem is a worthy effort full of imagery...

I'll give it a go:

As I gazed into the starry night
A neon green wisp shot across my eyes
A firefly had taken flight!
At the edge of the ravine chimed in other lights
And a symphony began to play
One by one they added to an imperfect harmony -
A dissonance that softly, slowly, caressed my every sense
The lights then scattered to cross an open field
On and off. Oh! how they shined!
Floating through the ambient air
Each like a small crystalline flask
A glittering display of minute fireworks
I now realize what I sought for in the starry night
Was wonder in the form of a firefly

My own choice for "lightning bug" is "firefly" (see "A Study in Light Pink / Titania" http://www.online-literature.com/forums/showthread.php?68911-colours-poetry/page7 ) ... but then I'm just a country bumpkin from Cali whose never seen one in person.

Ta ! (short for tarradiddle),
tailor STATELY