at the winery

implied mantis foma



last night at work
a praying mantis
stood still on the
concrete. i bent
down and placed
my gloved hand
next to it. it hopped
on. i carried it
away to a safe place
a few feet higher
and it hopped off
and stood still.
maybe there's a
scientific reason
for this odd and
solitary thing
jumping on and off
my hand, a sort
of compulsion
of temperature
or vibration or
something i could
never think of.
but now i write
to you, compelled
also by unknown laws
of grace, in bliss
i think of green
sticks, how we talk,
not caring to know
why we write.


~


7 17 06



foma: "harmless untruths" - Kurt Vonnegut