Summer evenings I going walking
people reunite on porches
parents take their children to the park
and bugs seep out from cracks in the ground

lighting bugs glow
sparse floating sparks
gliding past my little park
the one that I never sit in down my block
because children play there

when I have the courage I like to wave
the children shriek and run to the iron fence
pressing perfect pudgy noses through the bars
sticking small dirt covered fingers out trying to reach me
I gently wave, tightly smile and shuffle on
fast walking to my home

laughter carries in the wind after me
I long to pause in the park a moment longer
but if I stop for too long
I’m afraid a lightning bug might land on me