Bait for Dragonflies

Crumpled hearts can fill a jar
Maybe more
Faint glow worms stapled to a tree
Cannot light the darkness
So we capture fireflies
And crush their wings
Yet we ask them politely
To illuminate the night
And when they refuse
We trap them with the hearts
Their broken wings beat hopelessly on the glass
So we build a fluorescent lamp
That harshly scorches the velvet night
Gazing with wonder at our collection
With day, we hope for a butterfly
So we can pin its wings on a cork board
And admire its beauty
When asked, “What is this?”
We will say
Bait for a dragon fly