you don’t notice the first firefly right away

you think it’s a reflection
a cigarette ember
some glitch in your tired eyes

then another one blinks

then ten more

and suddenly the dark is alive again

fireflies
coming back like they always do
quietly
without announcement
without asking if the city still deserves them

yards start flickering at dusk
empty lots glowing at the edges
tree lines pulsing soft green behind apartment buildings and chain link fences

kids still chase them
even now

cupping tiny lights in their hands
holding summer for exactly three seconds before letting it go again

and adults pretend not to stare too long
pretend it doesn’t pull something old out of them

memories of wet grass
screen doors slamming
voices calling from porches when it got too dark to stay out

roanoke changes every year

buildings disappear
stores close
roads get wider
people leave

but the fireflies keep showing up anyway

drifting over backyards in northwest
floating near creek beds
blinking slow out by the mountains where the city finally gives up and turns back into woods

little living signals in the heat

proof that some things still return

for a few weeks
the whole valley softens at night

people walk slower
windows stay open later
everybody lingering outside a little longer than they planned to

just to watch tiny lights
appear
vanish
appear again

like the dark itself is breathing

#thegleest #roanokeva #fireflies #warmnights