A Praying Mantis Nearly Bit My Head Off

No shit.

Photo by me.

I was walking in the parking lot,
Minding my own business
When I heard my name whispered on the wind.

I stopped and looked around,
Wondering who on earth
Would know me out here?

A gust of wind kicked off,
Blowing dust everywhere and
Knocking my six dollar fedora off my head.

The wind suddenly died,
But my Fedora kept rolling down the asphalt,
Finally stopping, but balanced on it’s brim.

Weird.

I walked the several steps to my hat
And slowly bent down to pick it up
When I heard my name whispered again, only louder.

It made me nervous,
Hearing my name whispered in the hot, desert air,
Sounding like a demon escaping from hell.

As I knelt and reached for my felt head covering
I looked around, again,
Hoping to catch the perpetrator in the act.