by Beth Gordon
Out Past Bedtime
We opened the sliding glass door
and ran barefoot over damp grass.
Though we set out to gaze at the night sky,
we found ourselves instead
inside a constellation of fireflies.
My brother caught one in cupped hands
and opened them like a clamshell,
just wide enough so we could see
each breath of light, a quiet prayer,
a beacon to the stars above.
Caitlin O’Halloran is a biracial Filipino-American writer living in Rochester, New York. Her poetry has been published in literary magazines, including Third Wednesday, ONE ART, Remington Review, Vast Chasm Magazine, and The Bond Street Review. Website: www.caitlinohalloran.com
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/selfcaremaven/ Twitter: https://x.com/selfcaremaven
Beth Gordon is a poet, mother and grandmother in Asheville, NC. She is the author of several chapbooks including The Water Cycle (Variant Literature), How to Keep Things Alive (Split Rock Press) Crone (Louisiana Literature) and The First Day (Belle Point Press). Beth is Managing Editor of Feral: A Journal of Poetry and Art, Assistant Editor of Animal Heart Press, and Grandma of Femme Salve Books. Twitter, Instagram, and BlueSky @bethgordonpoet.