•••      EMILY MANTIS       •••

“I dwell in possibility.”
Emily Dickinson


Emily Mantis is not human but when she swivels her head around to look at me, I feel understood. A sharp intelligence radiates from Emily’s two main eyes. She is studying me. Her miniature smile tackles my heart. She may have been hatched here on earth but born she was with a love that far exceeds the capacity of the human heart.

How would I descibe Emily if she were human? I recently discovered this self portrait by the British artist Joseph Wright of Derby and thought “this should do it.”