Lest Fireflies Become Extinct (Poem)

I hold the beauty of your smile

cupped in my hand, a glowing light

take it gently into the evening hour

when the sun begins to fade

there under the branches of a leafless tree

I open my fingers to allow it flight

this other spark of love

it flickers upwards into the sky

joining all that star the night

the kind gazes, the unexpected generous words,

the endless compassionate acts