Tuesday, April 1, 2014

The spider above winding stairs




She spins her silky threads
Round & round in spooling orb

Her fingers restless, tapping & threading
Hair of deadly sting, velvet ropes to blacken hearts

Then she'll wrap the prey in a cocoon 
Above winding stairs, a crone by moonlight

She weaves tangled venom
All night, she mends the net like a fisherman

By morning, crystal dewdrops hang like worms
She waits, invisible, for her prey to step into trap

Then she wraps the prey in a cocoon  
Above winding stairs, a mother feeding her babies  


Posted for D'verse Poets Pub - Poetics - Animal Symbolism or Antics - Thanks for the visit ~

Picture credit:   here

47 comments:

  1. You make the spider killing another bug sound so poetic.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. They freak me out in real life but its a challenge to put them in a poem ~ Thanks ~

      Delete
  2. and then there are those spiders that write your name...they are the ones that freak me out...interesting too that all she is trying to do is feed her babies...i guess in a way we are no different....taking life to feed our own....

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. We are all animals with our own spinning webs to feed our babies, smiles ~ Thanks Brian ~

      Delete
  3. Very cool poem, Grace. The ending took me for surprise in a pleasant sort of way. All mothers want to look out for their little ones in their own way!

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Well I was going for that unexpected ending ~ I'm happy that it took you in another direction ~ Thanks Mary ~

      Delete
  4. What a poem. It makes me think. The photo is like a dream of drops hanging in
    very thin threads.....did they fall ?
    JetteMajken

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. I can imagine the dewdrops falling down ~ Thanks for the visit ~

      Delete
  5. yes - we all wanna feed our babies and do what we have to do.. great poem grace - i like the image of her mending the net like a fisherman... great allusion as well

    ReplyDelete
  6. beautiful..how the blood is food and the web is the magic catcher and the invisible mother full of duty loved it

    ReplyDelete
  7. The way even a carnivorous spider can seem poetic.. And she's a mother too with a precious litter

    ReplyDelete
  8. Awww, that last line changed the whole ominous aspects of the previous ones... In the end, animals are just doing all they can to survive... Perhaps it's us humans who put an interpretation on their acts...

    ReplyDelete
  9. I don't know why spiders creep us out so much but there's something about them. You describe that side of them perfectly.

    ReplyDelete
  10. so delicately composed... they are fascinating creatures if one can get past feeling creepy

    ReplyDelete
  11. Great ending, Grace! It certainly throws a totally different light on the whole poem.

    ReplyDelete
  12. The ending is just right. What a great twist!

    ReplyDelete
  13. "a crone by moonlight"....what a wonderful line! Loved this......

    ReplyDelete
  14. Wonderful poem and I love this...She weaves tangled venom
    All night, she mends the net like a fisherman :)

    ReplyDelete
  15. This is special. A fine poem with delicious vocabulary. As intricately woven as the web itself.

    ReplyDelete
  16. You wove a fine poem there, with silken words to mimic the silken threads of the spider's web.

    ReplyDelete
  17. beautiful. I debated writing about a spider as well, but couldn't find the balance I was looking for. You walked that spiderweb between brutal killer and creator of beauty just perfectly!

    ReplyDelete
  18. A lovely poem Grace, makes me think of Charlotte's web, one of my favorites.

    ReplyDelete
  19. wonderful poem I've always envied their weaving.

    ReplyDelete
  20. I love spiders - they're so beautiful and few are deadly. They are natural controls to the insect world. I encourage them and speak to them...like Charlotte. I hear her teaching her babies to use their "spinnerets"..making music making webs. Loved this.

    ReplyDelete
  21. I am TERRIFIED, TERRIFIED!!!!! of spiders... you make them seem like lovely creatures in this write tho... smiles

    ReplyDelete
  22. I like the resilience of the constant web spinning of a spider . You poetic treatment is impressive.

    ReplyDelete
  23. Excellent Grace, you create a clear image of the spider capturing its prey. It never ceases to amaze me how nature works.

    ReplyDelete
  24. Nice, Grace! Great analogy, "she mends the net like a fisherman." And great ending with providing for her spiderlings!

    ReplyDelete
  25. I find spiders so fascinating (as long as they aren't in my bedroom at night). They lend themselves so well to metaphor, as you have shown here.

    ReplyDelete
  26. Has to do what she has to do to keep her babies alive

    ReplyDelete
  27. Great observation poem! I love the sight of dewdrops in a web.

    ReplyDelete
  28. A small negligible view has accomplished with a beautiful poem.. Your poems are deep and touching.. Thank you:)

    ReplyDelete
  29. Congrats, up to 17 visits out here on the trail, and this is the first arachnid poem; wonderful wordsmithing, and imaginative manipulation. I once moved into a home on the desert in CA, to awaken finding hundreds of black widow spiders in the eves, and in the garage midst our boxed belongings. Bug spray will not kill them; you have to sweep them to the ground and stomp them with a shovel; a spider killing field for days; nightmare time.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Yikes, that would be a nightmare ~ Thanks for the visit Glenn ~

      Delete
  30. i am trying my hand at this prompt and thought i would go for the spider too :)

    ReplyDelete
  31. You weave a jeweled web of words here and leave me admiring the spider...well writ!

    ReplyDelete
  32. spiders are like people - they must plan for dinner :)

    ReplyDelete
  33. I have seen spider spinning it's web and enjoyed it!

    ReplyDelete
  34. You do justice to the wonderful weaver of webs.

    ReplyDelete
  35. Beautiful poem, grace. This reminds me of Nursery rhymes and spider stories...smiles.

    ReplyDelete
  36. Beautiful....let them live, I say; they don't mean harm, although they evoke fear for many.

    ReplyDelete
  37. that's a good mama :) ~

    ReplyDelete
  38. tho not a fan of spiders of any sort -this was a wonderfully drawn portrait - and the last lines did change the feeling - nicely done - K

    ReplyDelete
  39. Hey, a spider's gotta live too. That was very touching. I'll wait a few moments before I swat the next one. Thanks,
    Mark

    ReplyDelete
  40. Glad to read via the comments that I'm not the only grown up that's terrified of spiders. That they're good for the ecology of the planet helps to bear the idea of them. Lovely poem.

    ReplyDelete

I try my best to reciprocate comments and visits.
I allow anonymous comments if you have difficulty posting them. Thank you & have a good day!!!