A Spider Tale
There are ancient myths of old that tell of spider women
weaving the world into being with each sun that has risen.
Each night they unravel the moonbeam threads,
from the tapestry of doing and undoing, it is said.
I saw her today, crone spider woman on her throne,
like a queen in her mansion, pine needle bones
sway in her windows, an illusion of air.
I smiled, she really didn’t seem to care.
Her walls were built of silken thread,
she hung upside down, with earth ‘or her head.
The ceiling glistened with strewn chandeliers
magically lit by sunlight morning tears.
My feet softly padded on the fern draped trail,
As I watched her time slowed to the pace of a snail.
She froze in suspended animation, is it wind or prey?
Her intuition so finely tuned, I didn’t know what to say.
With a little contemplation I knew what to ask.
Do you have a lesson for me or some sort of task
She answered slowly with a thoughtful face.
Her voice all refinement and long-legged grace
I was surprised that she told me something I already knew.
Oh, the spiders ‘cross my door, webs dropped with dew.
With each passage in and out, I tear through their veil.
And then she leans in, no task, just a secret tale.
I am the keeper of the weft of life and warp of death.
In the moment of destruction, in your last breath
Reality is unbound — free to be reborn again.
The repeat of beat and slip of loom and skein.
Like your search for truth, you unravel the old
and pen a myth, a story, a mystery untold.
With each slow turning of the wheel of time
you must find yourself again and then rewind.
A little late to post today, my brain has poetry fatigue! Such a joy to finally write something on prompt (at least mostly) that is born from my love of nature, the lessons it teaches me and the beautiful mystery of myth. I am a bit in love with this poem though, hope ya’ll enjoy it.
Today’s NaPoWriMo prompt is “Marianne Moore was a well-known modernist poet, with a curious taste in hats. Though she wrote on many themes, I’ve always had some affection for her many poems about – or in the voice of – animals, such as “The Fish,” “Dock Rats,” “The Pangolin,” and “No Swan so Fine.” Today, try writing your own poem in the voice of an animal or plant, or a poem that describes a specific animal or plant with references to historical events or scientific facts..”
Source: https://www.napowrimo.net/go/
Image associated with this post is from Unsplash by Alexander Grigoryev