(Note–Moonfog wouldn’t appear today because he is moody. But, fortunately, Dale Williams Barrigar has rescued this Wednesday from emptiness and overall non-existence-Leila)
(Cool image provided by DWB)
The Encounters
“What the white whale was to Ahab, has been hinted;
what, at times, he was to me, as yet remains unsaid.”
– Herman Melville
I turned around and an exceedingly large, unbelievably green, and massively intimidating Praying Mantis had landed on the outside door handle of my door.
S/he had appeared there so suddenly it was as if s/he literally, magically appeared there, just materialized there, out of thin air, out of thin, thin air, or out of nothing.
And it was strange, because that door handle was the place I had been about to put my hand on one second ago. I had been unconsciously reaching out, planning on grabbing the handle, opening the door and entering my apartment – until I saw the massive Praying Mantis sitting there, perched on the handle, and utterly staring at me with an animal intensity which was unnerving at best, at least until I got a handle on things. This kind of animal is hard to brush off with a flick of the wrist. I almost literally couldn’t believe how BIG it was. Big, large, huge, and also gigantic, even gargantuan, at least in terms of a bug.
Then I got a handle on things. And I realized how cool this was! It was like the time I’d been walking on a trail in Denali National Park in Alaska and I looked up and there was a lynx standing on a log staring at me with its incredibly green, intense, and wild eyes.
A few old-timers in Alaska, both Native Americans and white folks, had already told me how very rare and unusual it was to see a lynx in the wild when I’d asked around a little bit about this in the bars of Anchorage and Fairbanks. Then I looked up and there was an f-ing lynx staring at me. It was one of the wildest and coolest moments I’ve ever had in a life filled, you could even say blessed, with lots of wild and cool moments.
And now here was this Praying Mantis. Somehow, here in urban Illinois outside Chicago, this wildlife and nature encounter was just as intense and jarring and cool as the experience with the lynx in Alaska had been, even though the animal involved this time was a whole lot smaller.
But if you’ve ever seen the eyes of a gargantuan Praying Mantis up close you know this thing can give you the chills on many levels (both good and bad).
Their eyes are so similar to ours, and at the very same time so vastly different from ours, that anyone who’s even half awake will be freaked out by this – in both bad, and good, ways.
I turned around again to take a picture and The Mantis was gone.
Notation: The following poem contains the scientific and cultural facts about The Praying Mantis researched after the fact of the above encounter, and all boiled down into an “awkward” and lyrical free verse style which intends to mirror The Mantis him- or herself in their incredibly uncanny, bug-like, alive, here-I-am-now selfness.
The Mantis Prays:
Written for Classical Guitar
The Mantis lays
her eggs in fall.
Then she quietly dies.
The Mantis dives out of the air
to escape
the haunting huntress bat.
And she sighs
prior to dining
on the cricket’s hat.
In China they will tell you
she is fearless.
And nothing can contain
her spirit fair.
The eyeballs of The Mantis are
black, and very there.
She lives
through the air,
she hides in her own
kind of cave.
The Mantis is a creature
of myth
who we share this planet
with.
She is as real as the day
in your hair.
Her arms, legs, wings
so greenly
and transparently
going
and glowing.
She lives for one year before
her race is run.
Maybe one year before
her day is done.
Only one year, before
she folds her wings,
and tells
her eggs
the way
to find the sun.
Dale Barrigar, Doctor of Philosophy, is a Melville scholar from Chicago who also admires the lone wolf writer style which Melville perfected many, many decades ago in America, bestowing a future gift on all of us amidst his myriad worldly failures, which he knew he would.
Saragun Springs 
Dale
Great encounters with wildlife. Nothing like realizing that the wild things are studyingvyou and asking themselves (especially the Lynx) if they need to “do” something about you.
I can hear the roll of what Cohen called the seven needed chords in the poem. Wonderful descriptions how the eyes are “very there.”
Thank you for the post!
Leila
LikeLike
Leila
As always in your case, that is a great way of saying it. I can only imagine how many creatures are studying myself and my two Siberian Huskies and one Pit Bull as we are strolling down the sidewalks or through the nature parks here in suburban Chicagoland, everyone from Squirrels, Opossums, Raccoons, Rats, Mice, Insects, Birds, Coyotes, Foxes, River Otters, Deer in the parks, must be watching us and in this case in order to steer very clear of us because many of them are probably extremely aware that the Siberian Husky can hunt with the same deadly accuracy as the Coyote itself, and will do so at any moment at the drop of a hat out of pure instinct.
I’ve been fortunate to spend a lot of time in North American Nature, from New England to California, Alaska, to Florida, and everywhere in between, so I have lots of other animal encounters I can write about/share with Saragun Readers some day (when inspiration hits), including an encounter with a Grizzly Bear in Alaska, Bison in Yellowstone, a Black Bear in northern Michigan, and a Shark in Florida.
One reason The Praying Mantis is so startling is because they look almost exactly like what the human race has always imagined Martians must look like if there are/were Martians. The greenness and the long legs, arms, wings, and the massive, very alert eyes, among other aspects, are all startling and COOL. Many people seeking mystery await the Martians from the skies hoping they will arrive here soon to jolt us out of our boredom, but all we really need to do is open our eyes and look around us at everyone who’s already here. It’s a vast Universe and that’s an understatement and this is the only Planet we know of (so far) that has biological life on it. Let’s appreciate what we have (and try to protect it) – before it’s gone.
Thank you, Leila!
Dale
LikeLiked by 1 person
Hi Dale
My, you are up early! Getting ready for work here on a lovely 3 AM June morn in the west.
Yes, we are always observed by Herriot’s Creatures Great and Small (Mantis are such lovely creatures, albeit alien). When you are out with the Troops, I’m certain that they are of more interest to the watchers. We humans have gotten soft via technology. If a wild predator wants to have us we are the last to know. Fortunately the keen noses of the Dogs will protect you!
I encourage one and all to return with a Big News post by Dale regarding what I am sure will be a long running brilliant event.
Leila
LikeLike
Thank you, Leila!
I also want to mention the Rabbits, Toads, Frogs, Snakes (Illinois has around 40 versions), and All the Other Creatures I probably forgot to mention that also live around here. It’s a LONG LIST and this is only Illinois! Can’t imagine what it must be like in The Amazon or Sub-Saharan Africa…
Thanks again…
Dale
LikeLike
My recent wildlife view. We have deer wandering around inside Lake Oswego. Not really common, but it happens. A couple of days one ran into the street a couple of cars ahead of u and got hit, got up and walked away. If might have died later.
We get salamanders, pilleated woodpeckers, various rodents and lots of other things in our neck of the woods.
As with many or most species, I think the female praying mantis is larger than the male because of maternal requirements. Like spiders, they may eat males of their species. Fun fact – the female may eat the head of the male during sex, but that doesn’t stop him until he is done.
LikeLike
Greetings Doug!
Good to know that the male Praying Mantis is so dedicated to his favorite hobby. Also a cautionary tale about getting your head bit off. Also good to know that the female PM is such a hearty femme fatale. At least the dangerous ones aren’t boring. And the scars can be worn as badges of honor and are hard to forget.
Yes, I believe you’re correct, deer are much tougher creatures than they’re generally given credit for by the general populace and a lot of that probably has to do with Mr. Walt Disney, God bless his soul. The ones with antlers rarely take things lying down. The mothers are a bit more standoffish usually, but that’s because they’ve got babies hiding behind them (or inside them). We’re lucky to live in the US of A where there are still a lot of wild animals. There isn’t a state in this nation that doesn’t have a lot of them to this day. And that’s unlikely to change for a very long time. Future humanity can shift for itself because it will have to anyway!
Thanks so much for your comments, very much appreciated, I really enjoy hearing from you.
Dale
LikeLike
Ha – I missed this one. I’m glad I spotted it in my tidy up. Little creatures are so ‘intricate’ often, aren’t they. Even the tiniest little being is an absolute wonder when you move into their visual field. A Mantis isn’t even one of the tinies and so we have the priveledge of being able to observe without visual aids. They are spooky, alien and mysterious and rather unsettling. Did this Mantis tell his/her Mantis mates about the strange encounter on the door handle? I hope so. dd
LikeLiked by 1 person