He spies a lone butterfly
with splendid colors,
blues, oranges and purples.

He see it land on some violet
hibiscus flowers, and its wings
flutter as if delighted with its
find.

But then from under the flowers
two claws snatch the butterfly
into the chewing mandibles of
a praying mantis.

He’s shocked by the horror of it,
a beautiful, harmless insect
snatched out of this world.

And he wonders why the hell
does the world have to be
filled with so much carnage.

A world where beautiful
butterflies and beautiful people
are brutally taken out of it
every second, every minute,
every hour of every day.

Bob Boyd