Dear spider

 

Dear spider, you are a curious creature.
Your legs, fragile, buoy up your body,
As you tap and prickle across the floor.
You arrived uninvited but hoping to stay,
Hoping to share my home.

Cautiously you explore the space,
Staying close to the edge,
As you stoop and spread under colossal chairs and swinging doors.
The walls, like sheer mountains, offer solace away from the heavy, passing feet.
Creeping and climbing, you make your way to the top corner,
Until finally, you sit quietly, hoping to be accepted.
Welcomed and yet, left alone. 

Composed, you start to weave your web.
Spinning, crawling, crafting as you create your precarious platform,
A home, a vantage point, a lure.
The shiny silk stretches out, spanning the walls, as you watch cautiously,
Hungry and still.
Your life, as delicate as it is short,
You remain focused on the moment. 

Outside,
Water spatters the window.
Raindrops thick and heavy,
Bounce off the dips, puddles and paves as they land.
The backdrop strikes a palette of orange, with licks of red and yellow.
Conkers splash down, some with their spiky seal cracked open.
The raw, soft insides, like fruit inside a stone, expose white flesh – untouched.
Leaves sop and stick flat to the ground. Gathered, heaped and heavy.
The world is both beautiful and terrifying,
Obstacles are plentiful, and every move gambles your tomorrow.

Inside,
Your corner offers refuge,
A tranquil space to keep you safe – for now.
Down below, shadows move and murmur as you watch, fixed.
The pots on the stove bubble and steam,
Their lids tapping lightly.
Windows open and close,
Lights flick on and off,
Until finally, the darkness comes, the home exhales,
And a calm peace cools the air.

The sky, now studded with stars, shrouds the earth.
The edge of the universe sits close.
Behind, its entirety, vast and abounding with secrets.
As the planets turn, moonshine glitters and glistens across your silk web.
You remain quiet and still,
Poised for another day.