Rain, rain, inconsolable rain.
\n\u201cWill the mantis be all right?\u201d asked Michael.
\nI said, \u201cYes, Michael, she will find a leaf.
\nThe garden is her home.\u201d
\nBut I was not sure.
\nI saw the mantis as fragile,
\nfor all her dignity.
\nDainty, for all her strength.
\nHow do such beautiful beings survive?
\nThe record storm passed.
\nTwo days of water.
\nDid she get something to eat? I thought.
\nAs if she were a child.
\nJackie looked for her after school.
\nHe told me she was not there,
\nwhere we saw her.
\n\u201cKeep looking Jack. We\u2019ll see her.\u201d I said.<\/p>\n
And I went out and looked.
\nShe was not there.
\nShe blended into this world so well,
\nI thought,
\namong begonia and ferns.
\nI\u2019ll look later.
\nMaybe somewhere else.
\nAnd then,
\nthis morning,
\nby the drive,
\nI saw a green twig.
\nA wing.
\nNo, I said.
\nNo.<\/p>\n
Then lifted her to my eyes.
\nI folded the errant wing against her.
\nI will put you in a box of crystal,
\nI murmured.
\nI will put you back,
\nto let the sun be on you.
\nTo tell the storm
\nI found you and we are undefeated.
\nThen I returned to the house,
\nholding her gently.
\nI had something to do,
\nfor me, for Michael, and Jack
\nand her.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
Rain, rain, inconsolable rain. \u201cWill the mantis be all right?\u201d asked Michael. I said, \u201cYes, Michael, she will find a leaf. The garden is her…<\/p>\n