Louise Glück – Aug 9, Iyengar III

For those who will appreciate this kind of lullaby. I didn’t see fireflies in real life until I was an adult, at a Yoga workshop an hour north of New Orleans. I thought they were magical.

LULLABY

Time to rest now; you have had

enough excitement for the time being.

Twilight, then early evening. Fireflies

in the room, flickering here and there, here and there,

and summer’s deep sweetness filling the open window.

Don't think of these things anymore.

Listen to my breathing, your own breathing

like the fireflies, each small breath

a flare in which the world appears.

I've sung to you long enough in the summer night.

I’ll win you over in the end; the world can't give you

this sustained vision.

You must be taught to love me. Human beings must be taught to love

silence and darkness.