We barely see fireflies now.
But here in the city, they’re everywhere.
They are the colorful logos of fast food chains
and the windows of inns and hotels.
They’re moving on busy streets
in different sizes and hues.
They’re inside big malls
just taking their nap inside
the smallest bulb that the big structure is selling.
They’re in the eyes of the little Badjao girl
who passes by the wide LED light
installed in the heart of the city.
They’re in the filthy creek – wings and body
bended here and there by the breathing of the
waters.
They’re suspended to every pole blanketed
by the incantation of the gnats and midges.
They are shattered— scattered in the sky—
and had existed before things were named.
They’re everywhere; lingering,
Learning the language of the streets.
We barely see fireflies now
But here, here in the city—
They are everywhere.
Jevin Astillero is a writer and a recent MA Panitikan graduate from MSU-Iligan Institute of Technology. He loves language and literature and dreams of championing regional voices someday through his writings.