Robert Siegel, a poet and fiction writer who lives in South Berwick, is noted for his poems about nature’s creatures. Here, he gives voice to a praying mantis.
Mantis
By Robert Siegel
Still as a silk screen I wait, I wait,
invisible, part of the furniture,
for the ambling fly or worm,
the Monarch just alighting,
the beetle dark under its armor.
On the altar of my arms, I offer up
whatever wanders by. In love
I am insatiable, will take
my mate’s head in his electric need
and devour it, swallowing his body
almost as an afterthought;
then, absent-mindedly,
moving stiff and brittle as a tree,
go propagate my kind.
Send questions/comments to the editors.
Success. Please wait for the page to reload. If the page does not reload within 5 seconds, please refresh the page.
Enter your email and password to access comments.
Hi, to comment on stories you must . This profile is in addition to your subscription and website login.
Already have a commenting profile? .
Invalid username/password.
Please check your email to confirm and complete your registration.
Only subscribers are eligible to post comments. Please subscribe or login first for digital access. Here’s why.
Use the form below to reset your password. When you've submitted your account email, we will send an email with a reset code.