Poem for a Tuesday — “I Am a Firefly” by Masao Handa

I am a firefly

with a tiny lantern lighted.

In search of my other self,

In the darkness of night

I fly. Tired I bathe myself

In the falling dew.

The night speaks to me,

But alas! I do not understand;

Through the vastness of obscurity

I fly, in search of my other self.

I am a firefly

With a tiny lantern lighted.

— In Quiet Fire: A Historical Anthology of Asian American Poetry 1892-1970. New York: The Asian-American Writers’ Fund, 1996.

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