My Santiago

A praying mantis on the Great Wall

A praying mantis is perched on the wall, Quiet in repose, Disdainful of chattering crowds, Thronging the narrow interstices Between inner wall and outer rampart. It gazes out from secure China Into the dread spaces of Mongolia; Alert, fixed! On sentry duty - Like Chinese soldiers of old did –

It scans the rugged ranges For signs of Genghis Khan and his Mongol hordes.

The mantis, Life ephemeral, Beauty transfixed, Is a mere speck on this vast edifice. It reminds me of my life, Of our lives! Warriors on the living wall one moment - Fretting about wives, lovers, children, home and Mongol spears - Tourists on the dead wall the next – Weighed down with Nikon, Nokia and Blackberry, Capturing, texting, emailing, A moment of substance in desperate lives!

All this in one instant; From inglorious death To petty living detail; From warrior to tourist! We, like that mantis – Are ephemeral, Immersed in the stuff of life, Everything all too real – To close to see the map – Then stunned to see it vanish!

On the wall now, A lifetime skipped next!