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
You make the spider killing another bug sound so poetic.
ReplyDeleteThey freak me out in real life but its a challenge to put them in a poem ~ Thanks ~
Deleteand 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....
ReplyDeleteWe are all animals with our own spinning webs to feed our babies, smiles ~ Thanks Brian ~
DeleteVery 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!
ReplyDeleteWell I was going for that unexpected ending ~ I'm happy that it took you in another direction ~ Thanks Mary ~
DeleteWhat a poem. It makes me think. The photo is like a dream of drops hanging in
ReplyDeletevery thin threads.....did they fall ?
JetteMajken
I can imagine the dewdrops falling down ~ Thanks for the visit ~
Deleteyes - 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
ReplyDeleteThanks Claudia ~
Deletebeautiful..how the blood is food and the web is the magic catcher and the invisible mother full of duty loved it
ReplyDeleteThe way even a carnivorous spider can seem poetic.. And she's a mother too with a precious litter
ReplyDeleteAwww, 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...
ReplyDeleteI don't know why spiders creep us out so much but there's something about them. You describe that side of them perfectly.
ReplyDeleteso delicately composed... they are fascinating creatures if one can get past feeling creepy
ReplyDeleteGreat ending, Grace! It certainly throws a totally different light on the whole poem.
ReplyDeleteThe ending is just right. What a great twist!
ReplyDelete"a crone by moonlight"....what a wonderful line! Loved this......
ReplyDeleteWonderful poem and I love this...She weaves tangled venom
ReplyDeleteAll night, she mends the net like a fisherman :)
This is special. A fine poem with delicious vocabulary. As intricately woven as the web itself.
ReplyDeleteYou wove a fine poem there, with silken words to mimic the silken threads of the spider's web.
ReplyDeletebeautiful. 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!
ReplyDeleteA lovely poem Grace, makes me think of Charlotte's web, one of my favorites.
ReplyDeletewonderful poem I've always envied their weaving.
ReplyDeleteI 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.
ReplyDeleteI am TERRIFIED, TERRIFIED!!!!! of spiders... you make them seem like lovely creatures in this write tho... smiles
ReplyDeleteReally Anthony, smiles ~
DeleteI like the resilience of the constant web spinning of a spider . You poetic treatment is impressive.
ReplyDeleteExcellent Grace, you create a clear image of the spider capturing its prey. It never ceases to amaze me how nature works.
ReplyDeleteNice, Grace! Great analogy, "she mends the net like a fisherman." And great ending with providing for her spiderlings!
ReplyDeleteI 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.
ReplyDeleteHas to do what she has to do to keep her babies alive
ReplyDeleteGreat observation poem! I love the sight of dewdrops in a web.
ReplyDeleteCongrats, 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.
ReplyDeleteYikes, that would be a nightmare ~ Thanks for the visit Glenn ~
Deletei am trying my hand at this prompt and thought i would go for the spider too :)
ReplyDeleteYou weave a jeweled web of words here and leave me admiring the spider...well writ!
ReplyDeletespiders are like people - they must plan for dinner :)
ReplyDeleteI have seen spider spinning it's web and enjoyed it!
ReplyDeleteYou do justice to the wonderful weaver of webs.
ReplyDeleteBeautiful poem, grace. This reminds me of Nursery rhymes and spider stories...smiles.
ReplyDeleteBeautiful....let them live, I say; they don't mean harm, although they evoke fear for many.
ReplyDeletethat's a good mama :) ~
ReplyDeletetho 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
ReplyDeleteHey, a spider's gotta live too. That was very touching. I'll wait a few moments before I swat the next one. Thanks,
ReplyDeleteMark
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