I'm sharing my response to Margaret Simon's Poetry/Photo Exchange where partners write poems from a photo prompt. The very poetic Mary Lee Hahn was my partner. She sent this photo and said, "Have fun!"
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| Photo by Mary Lee Hahn |
I tried to have fun. I really did! It looks to me like that mantis is feeding on a stink bug. I could work with that. I began with mapping and all these words came to mind, starting with mandible: praying, prey, prehistoric, clutch, hunger, food chain, crunch, armor, cannibal, instinct.
Then I asked , What is the metaphor here?" May Sarton wrote in Mrs. Stevens Hears the Mermaids Singing, "Metaphor teaches you what the poem is trying to tell you," and "Metaphor is the 'old wisdom' -the poet has to explore what the metaphor is saying." Then I thought about Yemen and Syria and all nations that are preyed upon. And the fun disappeared!
After I wrote my "state -of-the-world" poem, I pushed myself to forget the metaphor and think more like a child. I'm glad I was able to let go of my serious side for a bit. Thank you, Mary lee, for the photo inspiration.
Here is my poem, and yes, I saw a video of a praying mantis pouncing on a mouse!
My mandibles crunch armor,
rip mouse fur,
and before it's too late,
I devour the head
of my mate.
But you can be sure,
before I pounce,
I say a prayer.
~Joyce Ray (All rights reserved)
Margaret hosts the Roundup today at Reflections on the Teche. Check out the poem photo pairings! Thank you, Margaret!
Ha! Even in that gory tale, you managed to turn it into a smile, Joyce. Mary Lee's picture is amazing and you've written a beautiful poem image for it.
ReplyDeleteOh, I love the humor that threads through your Praying mantis facts. I must share with you... My grandsons and I were watching a grasshopper and a wasp once and the wasp sucked the insides out of the grasshopper before our eyes. It left my one grandson speechless. The other flatly stated, "That's just awful!" The last two lines are perfect.
ReplyDeleteHa! I'm glad you circled back to the child-view here. :) Of course one would pray before pouncing... of course! Thank you!
ReplyDeleteYikes! Oh that Mary Lee. No "easy-peasy" landscape shot for you! Great job pouncing on the task at hand and writing such a delicious poem. ;)
ReplyDeleteI'm really enjoying all the stories of how people approached the photographs and the writing. I really felt your pain as your musings took you to places that weren't what you wanted. Your final poem is wonderfully concrete, and I especially love the last two lines.
ReplyDeleteWonderful poem, Joyce. Perfect ending!!
ReplyDeleteA mouse! That's ambitious. But what else to you expect from an armor-cruncher? Good job, Joyce :-)
ReplyDeleteha! This challenge was really difficult for me. The pressure of wanting to please the photographer is immense! You do not disappoint. Great fun with that super last line. Well done and bravo to you!
ReplyDeleteOf course, a mask poem as a praying mantis. Mary Lee loves to throw a curved ball into things. Maybe our next photo exchange could be strange animals from your area. Ha!
ReplyDeleteI'm thoroughly enjoying reading about others' experiences responding to the shared photos. It's comforting to realize, in retrospect, that I wasn't the only one floundering at times! As others have noted, your ending lines are perfect and add just the right touch of levity to a potentially gruesome poem. Well done!
ReplyDeleteYes, that is, indeed, a stinkbug!
ReplyDeleteLove what you did with this, and I always appreciate process notes!
I "added" my poem to the linkup on Thursday, but I see that it didn't make it in. Probably I didn't check the "accept our terms" boxes in my rush. I hope everyone gets to see your photo and my poem! Sorry I'm late! I really did try to be early this time!
I'm just starting to realize how ferocious those praying mantises are--eating mice and hummingbirds and each other. Oh my. I'm glad you found some fun with this picture and your poem.
ReplyDeletePerfect! Praying Mantis is a very vicious creature. Have you seen the photo making the rounds of the praying mantis devouring a hummingbird?
ReplyDeleteVery clever poem for a challenging image. I wish a praying mantis would gobble up all the stink bugs at my house! Thanks for sharing.
ReplyDeleteHa! I love the ending!
ReplyDeleteWry and just wicked enough, Joyce - very clever. Praying Mantis gotta do what Praying Mantis gotta do.
ReplyDeleteI was thinking the same thing! I think you found your balance, Joyce!
DeleteWell, your last line saves/says it all with, "I say a prayer." Thanks Joyce!
ReplyDeleteSimilar to other people's comments, it was the last line of saying a prayer that just totally disarmed me. :)
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