Fireflies of Hope

for Camp Firefly 2024 & our St. Jude friends 

Together, we spend sun-drenched days 

on the water, glide across a lake 

of sparkling blue, burst balloons in laughter, 

cool water against our skin: 

hands held, eyes met, tears shed. 

Together, we traverse trails 

of green, splash into the wide blue, 

beat drums of life, dance circles of spirit, 

sing silly songs and hymns of worship, 

breathe blessings of nature, of time, of each other. 

Together, we speak of how isolation and illness, 

grief and sorrow touches us— recount 

our stories, share our children’s hearts 

of hope and resilience, how we hold on, 

how we rise and break through to joy. 

Together, we see smiles abound 

on our children’s faces, their bodies exuberant 

in delight: radiant, alive. We awake 

to wonder in our vibrant, blooming world, 

to beauty in our families, to bounty in new friends.

Together, we feel the gift of each moment, our hearts, 

our hands, the winds moving through us 

as spirits of breath and refreshment. We exhale 

our fears, make space for what nourishes us, 

our shared grief moved from heartache to healing. 

Together, our newfound wings take flight 

as we soar into summer’s skies, encouraging each other 

towards the light, towards tomorrow 

bright fireflies of hope through darkness 

stretching to meet a new dawn.

Stacie Eirich is a mother of two and author. Her book, Hope Like Sunlight (Bell Asteri Publishing, 2024), is an illustrated memoir in poetry, prose and art of her family’s journey to a cure for their child from brain cancer. All proceeds from the book benefit St. Jude Children’s Research Hospital & Ronald McDonald House. Her poems have recently been published in The Amazine, The Bluebird Word and Synkroniciti Magazine. She lives in Texas with her family. www.stacieeirich.com