By Virginia Jasmin Pasalo

 

THE darkness has always been a friend, and before dawn each morning, I listen to the silence. At this time, it is in the silence that I am able to connect with all the scattered pieces of me, and become a part of the larger whole, and the smallest particle of dust.

In the beginning, according to the Bible, when God created the heavens and the earth, “the earth was formless and empty, darkness was all over the surface of the deep, and the Spirit of God was hovering over the waters.” The darkness came with the creation of the heavens and the earth, before God created light, and seeing it was good, “separated the light from the darkness.” Darkness and light though “separated” are vital to earth’s life. Without one or the other, life cease to exist.

But, not all light is beneficial to creatures on earth. In fact, light pollution appears to be one of the primary drivers for the decline in the population of fireflies. Like in most countries, light pollution is prevalent in the Philippines, particularly in urban areas,  especially during festivities. Many cities and towns in the Philippines have excessive and unnecessary artificial lighting, that it has become almost a religion, despite instances where the excessive use of it results in disasters, like religion. Paul Simon’s The Sound of Silence plays incessantly, in my mind:

And the people bowed and prayed
To the neon god they made
And the sign flashed out its warning
In the words that it was forming …

According to studies, LED streetlights, advertised as environmentally friendly, appear to be disrupting reproduction of glow-worms, including fireflies. Under the LED blue light, the males struggle to find females, which under normal conditions, are tuned to the female’s green light. “Most fireflies use species-specific flash codes to find mates. But light pollution blinds the flying males so they can’t find the females. And the sedentary females (in some species they’re wingless) can’t move to darker areas.”

 

Shine

from the once dark mountains
a swarm of night lights flicker brightly
disrupting the dance
among fireflies, who lose touch
with each other, unable to mate
disappearing, where they used to shine
in the dark

the lights nibbled on the dark
night by night
until only a hint exists
until the lights were full
devouring all darkness
amid the weeping of felled trees
and the fright, and the flight
of fireflies

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