Shining light

I have a little friend with me here, a firefly I caught in a jar. Just one. When I was little, my brother and I would catch 40 or 50 a night and run in mad circles around the yard, waving our jars of lightning. In the dark, their little bodies were invisible, and as soon as my eyes fell on one flash of yellow, it would flicker out. It would make me dizzy peering into the jar, as my eyes darted from one flash to the next and the next. Then I would open the jar and put my hand in, so the glow would surround my fingers and their little legs tickled the hair on my hand as they clambered out. There was an article in the paper today about fireflies. They look for love (or lust) with their flashing lights. Only two weeks of flying, glowing, loving, and then they're gone. I feel a bit guilty stealing an hour of my little friend's life away, just to sit with me.