Praying Mantis

They have six legs and run on four; they hunt with deadly skill;
They all use camouflage and stealth to move in for the kill;
There are many many species, in many shapes and sizes,
Praying mantises are insects which are choc full of surprises.

Their front legs are their weapons, with which they kill their prey,
they're barbed along their inside so meals can't get away,
they feed on smaller creatures, and they are not fussy eaters,
they'll tackle moths and cockroaches, small lizards and mosquiters.

When it comes to romance, it's dangerous for the male,
he could offer flowers or poetry, it would be to no avail,
she'll woo him to her clutches and within her warm embrace,
before they've finished mating, she'll have chewed away his face.

I guess that he dies happy but it's really hard to say,
he can't really pass comment when his head is chewed away,
She doesn't seem to mind a bit, a meal adds to the fun,
and brings a certain gravity to the term "to be as one".

So if perchance the fates decide in your next incarnation
that you should be a mantis living in the insect nation
if you should be a female choose your partner on his taste,
but if you are a male, hope your sex drive is misplaced.
İAlex Dudley 8/01/2004

PS I have since learned that not all species of Praying Mantis eat the males after mating. Just enough to make sure I don't want
to come back as one.