a tiny little spider

A tiny little spider
floating upon the river,
flowing rapidly hither
headed nowhere, forever.

 

This poor spider
half-drowning, always frowning
and outwardly sparkling �"
fake smiling, smiling smiles
like electric lights shining!
hidden pains and sorrows;
sorrows that keep piling.

 

Riling, in agony,
the spider in the river
filled with antagony
his limbs begin to quiver.
And fighting on and on,
under the shimmering sun,
the water rough and rapid
everything �" bland, insipid

Drowning, for eternity, it seems
drowning in an endless dream.
Fighting for his dear life,
fighting for his kids and wife,
children he raised well,
as far as anyone could tell,
well, anyway, it must be said �"
by god he tried his best.

 

Fighting to be the best,
fighting to get the best,
fighting because he feels blessed,
fighting because there’s nothing left.

 

For tiny little profits,
tiny little wars
in tiny little worlds
on some blood-soaked,
gut splattered,
flesh-caked moor.

 

It had no idea when its life began,
what life had in store.
joyful, it might have been,
before the river and endless war
“well, why not fight?” it might have said,
“for life is such a bore,”
and in its tiny spider head,
it found something worth fighting for.

 

Eency weency spider
lying in the gutter, drowning;
drowning in emotions
so easy enough to ignore.

 

Drowning, Dying,
Fighting, Floating

upon the endless river.
Another day, another war,
another fight, another moor
battles over precious nothing
soon to be no more.
That’s just how spiders live,
in their tiny spider worlds,
Unhappily, ignorant, misunderstanding it all �"
life is but a speck, a farce
there’s nothing here that lasts.

 

When its life began it had no idea
what death had in store!
Did it imagine it would float like this
down the river forevermore?

 

Or had it imagined
… freedom
from this circulating river,
that’s flowing faster and faster,
hither

and tither

?

 

A tiny little spider, looks forward to a better dream,
an eency weency spider, going down the stream.

Author's Note

i love reading all your comments! i don't care if it's short, i still cherish hearing from you all.

Reviews

[camac1994]

All I know is how it makes me feel. Eency weency makes me feel good about the spider, that the whole world is so large and eency weency is so small.
From its beginning, Eency weency is fighting to stay alive!
Ern, what about those days Eency weency is just chilling in its web, the wind is blowing lightly, the gnats are abundant and flying into the web...Not much work to have a gnat to save for the whole spider family cookout!

[Ern M. Yoshimoto]

Hey Cam. i'm glad this persona (a spider!) connected with you. yes, its life is small, but compared to the universe, so is ours. and while i too wish the spider - and all of us - could live in peace and enjoy the world's small offerings, that is, regretfully, rarely the case.

[camac1994]

Ern, so wise, so humble...I believe if the whole world could talk like this, we would all live in peace. There was a Coke commercial that I loved: "I'd like to teach the world to sing in perfect harmony...https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wlR0KElxxVg

[Ern M. Yoshimoto]

i didn't expect such wisdom to come from Cocacola of all people (organisations?) but i'll take it on board.

[Hallow]

I really love this one. It reminded me of when I was looking at the stars and realized I was just a speck, a blip in this universe. And for the spider, in size, it's the same. The amount of universe for the spider is so much bigger. But then, it might be for us too. Interesting stuff. Great poem.

[Ern M. Yoshimoto]

you've hit the nail on the head. while i welcome interpretations, my intention here was to compare ourselves with the spider and see our lives as a speck in the grand scheme of things. and yet, even as small creatures, we still suffer, and still deserve compassion.

[Relic]

With the way science is always progressing, will we someday figure out what insect are thinking? That would be quite interesting to see. However, would we want to hear the horror of what they go through...Hmm?

[Ern M. Yoshimoto]

i present my hypothesis: insects are thinking more or less exactly what we are thinking. they want food, sex, shelter, and maybe even love, just as we do. and once in a while maybe they think about what their real purpose in this world actually is. let's wait for the scientists to falsify that ;)

[lost_poet]

I absolutely love how you played with those words. I got chills while reading this piece, not because of I am afraid of spiders, I adore them, but because I love how your words made me feel. Amazing piece, thank you for sharing!

[Ern M. Yoshimoto]

thanks mate. i'm delighted to hear that something i wrote has that effect.

[John the Baptist]

I think the spider is a metaphor for much of humanity. Many people view life in the same way the spider does. And their lives are just as sad.

[Ern M. Yoshimoto]

i'd say you almost hit the mark: it was meant as a metaphor for not just ALL of humanity but all living things. we are all struggling and all caught in a "river" or, events and circumstances beyond our control.

[Betty Hermelee]

Hello and welcome! I love the metaphor in your poem....you bring the tiny spider alive and show us how cruel the world is for humans alike...war, chaos, poverty, homeless and so many facets of life an unpleasant life...vivid images makes this a truly amazing read...thank you for sharing
Warmly, B

[Ern M. Yoshimoto]

thanks B for stopping by! i'm glad you enjoyed this piece. this one is full of dark themes, but, like you said, so is life. that said, i hope the second to last line gave you a hint of hope. life is hard, but there is something... dreams, perhaps... that could make our time on earth meaningful and beautiful.

[Pryde Foltz]

Wonderful storytelling. I guess the spider is not meant to swim. It has not been given fins. It has been given threads to throw; to create macrame in the garden, and soar through the summer breeze on string end. (I think you have inspired me)

But we have all been that spider, haven't we. Fighting up stream when we should be playing in the garden.

Really lovely to read you.

[Ern M. Yoshimoto]

i am extremely happy that my writing has inspired you, even a little bit. that's the greatest honor any writer could receive. and i'm also thrilled that you saw yourself in the spider. that was exactly what i hoped for. we want to be in a garden, or heaven, but instead we are here struggling with all life throws at us.

[Julie McCarthy (juliesp..]

Amazing write
Really love it

[Ern M. Yoshimoto]

thanks for stopping by Julie! i'll be sure to visit your page very soon.

[Writergurl (Mama's Girl..]

I love metaphors, I write with them myself. This is really good, enjoyed

[Ern M. Yoshimoto]

thanks Nora :) i just came from reviewing your new work. see you again!

[Lisasview]

First read of yours and I did so enjoy it.
I always love metaphors because they make the reader think...really think... I wrote a poem called Innocence that is full of metaphors ...I do think you might like it...Ahhhh, yes, the desire to survive... and be happy...
Lisasview

[Ern M. Yoshimoto]

thanks Lisa! i had fun working with a 'spider' and the river. i could play around with it, referencing the children's nursery rhyme, etc.

[Lisasview]

You are so welcome!
Lisa