Mayflies and Fireflies Summary

"Mayflies" describes the short life of the mayfly, with its birth and death taking place in one day. They spend their only twenty-four hours of life frantically flying about and mating. It is interesting to see from their perspective regarding the length of their lives; they see twenty-four hours as a relatively long time, as they see their youth, only a few hours before, as "so very long ago" (p. 10). "Fireflies" tells of the light that makes a firefly truly distinct among insects. The poet compares the light to ink, calligraphy, and penmanship, as well as painting and brush strokes. To emphasize the powerful and image-provoking verbs used by the poet, he has placed verbs beginning with the same letter adjacent to each other, such as glimmering, gleaming, and glowing.

Mayflies and Fireflies Analysis

"Mayflies" matter-of-factly tells of the...