Peter Kahn is a founding member of the London poetry collective -- Malika’s Kitchen -- and the founder of
the Chicago branch. His poems have been accepted for publication in The Moonwort Review, X Magazine, Make,
The Fourth River, Pearl, and Loraine and James and he was a finalist in the 2006 Fugue Poetry Contest. His
manuscript was a semi-finalist for the 2007 Saint Lawrence Book Award and a finalist for the 2008 Violet Reed
Haas Prize for Poetry. He is the 2007 recipient of the Wallace Douglas Award for contribution to the Chicago
youth writing community.
the Chicago branch. His poems have been accepted for publication in The Moonwort Review, X Magazine, Make,
The Fourth River, Pearl, and Loraine and James and he was a finalist in the 2006 Fugue Poetry Contest. His
manuscript was a semi-finalist for the 2007 Saint Lawrence Book Award and a finalist for the 2008 Violet Reed
Haas Prize for Poetry. He is the 2007 recipient of the Wallace Douglas Award for contribution to the Chicago
youth writing community.
Firefly
I'm trying to forget
what if felt like to be aglow,
so I won't notice
that I'm not.
That week in Toronto
is an indelible purple stain
that started as a sizzling smile
that couldn't stop. The incomplete
search for a Bison Burger. The "it's just
a few blocks" walk to the 4 miles
away park where we napped in the sun.
The "L" word
let loose for the first time like a firefly
from a grape jar.
A week later, it boomeranged
back, bopped me, bruising my teeth.
My smile's an imposter,
a phantom of what it was.
Two years have creaked by --
rusty quick sand.
When I see her, her eyes dip down
seeing what shouldn't have been.
I see the after-glow of lightning
bugs long ago dimmed.
I'm trying to forget
what if felt like to be aglow,
so I won't notice
that I'm not.
That week in Toronto
is an indelible purple stain
that started as a sizzling smile
that couldn't stop. The incomplete
search for a Bison Burger. The "it's just
a few blocks" walk to the 4 miles
away park where we napped in the sun.
The "L" word
let loose for the first time like a firefly
from a grape jar.
A week later, it boomeranged
back, bopped me, bruising my teeth.
My smile's an imposter,
a phantom of what it was.
Two years have creaked by --
rusty quick sand.
When I see her, her eyes dip down
seeing what shouldn't have been.
I see the after-glow of lightning
bugs long ago dimmed.
Peter Kahn
Firefly (aka, lightning bug) facts:
Firefly light is usually intermittent…. Each blinking
pattern is an optical signal that helps fireflies find
potential mates. Scientists are not sure how the
insects regulate this process to turn their lights on and
off. A firefly has an average lifespan of 2 months. (The
National Geographic website)
Firefly light is usually intermittent…. Each blinking
pattern is an optical signal that helps fireflies find
potential mates. Scientists are not sure how the
insects regulate this process to turn their lights on and
off. A firefly has an average lifespan of 2 months. (The
National Geographic website)