Twinkles and Gleams

Little barefoot buddy, boy,
sharing summer skies,
how the twinkling of stars,
was caught by fireflies.

We reached into the dewy grass,
put the blinking bugs in jars.
asked each other, "Is it fair,
like this, to capture stars?"

The frogs, a'chirpin' in the streams ,
hiding under lily pads,
nearby there, the squiggly gleams,
showed swimming baby tads.

The tadpoles that we deftly caught,
were put, too, in Mason jars,
again, not so sure if we ought,
put babies behind glass bars.

Fun with our nature's flashlight,
lasted us just so long.
Then by the balmy starlight,
we decided to right the wrong.

The fireflies blinked in the bushes;
tadpoles wiggled in the streams.
Lives of captives by our wishes,
free to live their nature's dreams.