For a walk, one night,
Into the park I embark,
Amongst the forest I see a shine,
Surrounded by the dark.

For long had I cursed myself,
For doing such a blunder,
Walking on a moonless night,
Into the forest’s darkness I plunger,
Alas! The flickering lamp,
Showed me a glimmer of hope,
Fighting the eternal dark,
Even with its limited scope.

As a traveller in the night,
My heart was filled with gratitude,
For the illuminating rays escaping
A lamp that stood in solitude.

Then I heard a sound, a buzz,
Towards the lamp, a bug approaches,
It merrily dances around the cage,
Then onto the light it encroaches.

I shared the bug’s mirth,
Onto its goal, the bug neared,
The light is within bug’s reach,
A touch, a flick, it disappeared!

To kill oneself for a moments joy,
An act I could not fathom,
Singing, dancing till the last,
That fool, that idiot, that simpleton.

To me the light was
A good tiding’s epitome,
What was a radiant joy to others,
Was the gloomy death for some.

Then I heard a familiar sound,
Another bug was coming by,
And like the fallen one,
Straight into the light it flies.

I could not be a mere spectator this time,
Knowing the end that was to come,
I started waving frantically,
Far from gratitude, it threw a tantrum.

It buzzed madly escaping my clutches,
Dodging my hands and fingers,
Until the heat became unbearable,
Now close to the lamp it lingers.
 
Then as if to ridicule me,
It encircled the torch,
Then it entered it, all contempt,
To die, to burn, to scorch.

So the light feasted another prey,
Now the flames dance and flicker,
The innocent glow of confidence,
Now belonged to a slayer.

Was life too meaningless to kill itself?
Or in search of truth to the fire it went?
Can someone be so steadfast in its pursuit?
It simply must’ve been that arrogant.

For a goal am I ever so zealous,
Not bothered with dying in its course,
To achieve it with all I have,
Or to lose my life with no remorse.

And so I prepared myself,
To save the next one from it wrath,
Determined to prevent it from its goal,
To dissuade it from its chosen path.

And the next bug did arrive,
As full of life as the other ones,
A moribund joy resonated in the buzz,
And the lamp devilishly burns.

For a while it challenged
My hand’s dexterity,
But now within my clutched,
It withered frantically.

It wriggles, it tickles,
My palm as it scrapes,
Finally a bite paved for it,
An opportunity to escape.

The moment it was free,
It resumed its destined flight,
It soared with more enthusiasm,
Into the wicked light.

I gazed as the buzzing bug,
Was silenced of its joyous hum,
It knew its destination was its end,
Respect grew for its martyrdom.