The female mantis prays for forgiveness to murder.

Drunk with guilt, her wings shiver.

A flock of clouds shepherded by wind

blinds a moon in voyeur of the scene.

Privacy, at last, the sacrifice begins.

The female strokes her lover down from his chin.

The male mantis prays for his demise.

His body for the family will suffice.

The male offers his head.

Wailing, the female fed.

The moon peeks through a crack in the sky.

Touching the female, Mother Nature closes her eyes.