Pic and a Word Challenge #203: Playing mantis

• Manja Maksimovič

Well, a distant relative, but she definitely came to play.

.

K

o

b

i

l

i

c

a

.

Playing mantis
 
I thought it was a huge caterpillar.
She came on Wednesday
as if to say:
“Play with me.”
 
She landed on our front door
and fluttered as if to promise:
“It's not over yet.
You’re still alive.
I’m still alive.
Let’s play.”
 
I listened  
and went to fetch the camera.
I returned
and she was still fluttering.

I felt inadequate.
When was the last time
I landed before an unknown door
and just fluttered?   
 
And then I thought again:
But that’s what I do,  
I play in front of unknown doors
with my camera all the time.
 
I thanked the caterpillar.
She was huge.
She stopped fluttering
and was off.  
 
And then I wondered:
what if she was really a locust,
the first of many?
Where lies the difference?
 
In my language we have the same word
for both:
Kobilica.
Little she-horse.

In response to Patrick Jennings’ Pic and a Word Challenge #203: Play

14 thoughts on “Pic and a Word Challenge #203: Playing mantis”

  2. Pingback: Walking ~ Pic and a Word Challenge #204 – Pix to Words

  3. Loved the word lesson if not the actual bug! It even sent me on an etymological stroll (which I always enjoy) because of the similarity of kobila with the Spanish caballo, which intrigued me.

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    1. Ahh, Lexi, this is great! I love that you explored meanings and words. You can tell me if kobila relates to caballo, I have no idea! 😀 Also, I’m not quite certain which kind of bestia this was! Was it a locust, do you know?

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  7. I thought you’d return with camera and she’d be gone. Glad she stayed. Lovely, your whimsy— she came to play, thus, Playing Mantis. Love your play with words.
    I know such grasshoppers. The one I showed you today is a real bestia (haha) it looks as if she’s wearing a mask. Wonder why her head is so large. Perhaps she’s the professor to the others.
    Thanks for pointing me here. Just adorable.

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  8. Pingback: Wordless Wednesday 13/10/21 – An Embarrassment of Riches

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