Praying Mantis Photo Addendum

In last Friday’s blog post on insect behavioral research, I said I would try to find the insect poems I had written for an undergraduate creative writing course. You will be thrilled to learn that I was successful. Although the erasable bond paper was crumbling with age, some verse stands the test of time.

Here’s one I wrote about my all-time favorite bug. The photos are from Rachel (www.rachelphilipson.com). I know you’re anxious to see the other poems, but I’d better wait. I may write about insects again.

A praying mantis exploring a wall at
the Museum of the Earth, Ithaca, NY.

  

THE DIVINER

The praying mantis
folds hands in prayer,
a religious cult
considered quite rare;

meditating upon
its four rear limbs,
awaiting prey,
whispering insect hymns;

this diviner from God
with swords attached
seizes its following
with sermon unmatched;

oh worshipping insect
whose powers all hail,
why after mating
must you eat the male?

Further explorations of a praying mantis on a
wall at the Museum of the Earth, Ithaca, NY.