Raven Black Legs

Eight raven black legs poise

High on the dining room wall

Out of her element

 

She’s trapped in a human environment

Her discoverer could remove her in a crystal jar

To her open-air habitat

 

But for now, she’s left alone

Free to weave her night time tapestry,

Like Wilbur’s best friend, Charlotte

 

And free to consider its next activity,

Like Fill a silken bag with hundreds

Of replicated raven black legs

 

But freedom doesn’t last very long

And the next morning,

Eight raven black legs spread, limp

In the clear water of the toilet bowl

 

 

Author's Note

Happy Halloween, this is a true story

Reviews

[BL]

Great writing - simple and effective

[Shelley Warner]

Aww thank you BL.

[Dave Brown]

poor little spider, just doing its thing

[Shelley Warner]

Yes, poor thing. Thanks for reading.

[Fabian G. Franklin]

The arachnid wanderers are so amazing. I must admit I love the black and yellow tuxedoed writing spiders that tend to weave near houses. I enjoyed your poem. I liked the phraseology, "Raven Black Legs" as well. Here's to good friends and great writing!

[Shelley Warner]

Oh thank you for reading and reviewing. We spent a year in Florida and there were big black and yellow spiders that wove big nests. They called them Banana Spiders. I wonder if they're the same ones you mention. I will check out your writing.

[Fabian G. Franklin]

Banana spiders are not the same. I'm referring to "Argiope Aurantia" or the Writing Spider. They are in the orb weaver family. The Golden Orb Weaver (Nephila Clavipes) is sometimes called a "banana spider" and they are native to Florida among other places. You can find pics of both that do look similar but they are different species.

[Shelley Warner]

Very interesting.

[Fabian G. Franklin]

I love to learn. If you love nature I can suggest a great site. E.O. Wilson, renowned American Bilogist formed a website called EOL or Encyclopedia of Life that has been busy cataloguing ever known form of life on planet earth and you can go there to look up any lifeform. I love it! I use it as a biology teaching tool for my kids. It's completely free and secure. And no membership is required.

[Shelley Warner]

That sounds like a good resource.

[jacob erin-cilberto]

and Carole King is singing, "I feel the earth move under my spider legs"----

[Shelley Warner]

LOL, thank you for reading Jacob.

[Gee]

They should come with bells attached to their legs so that their presence is announced :)
Like many spiders make my skin crawl, ughhhhh.
Enjoyed the read.

[Shelley Warner]

The thought of bells on spiders' legs made me chuckle. Thank you for reviewing.

[emmajoy]

'But for now, she’s left alone - Free to weave her night time tapestry, '
Night melded to isolation can do that.. right or wrong.

Your all-seeing mind seems to find thoughts wherever you look, Shelley - whether reality or imagination..it becomes theatre for the thought process. Yes creepy as it lies but also an insight into how one can see life re.create fact. Brrrr.. very appropriate for the coming date.. but could be 'synonymed' into confusion!

[Shelley Warner]

Thank you. I enjoyed reading your review.

[Carlos Lorenzo Estrada]

And that is where those creepy crawlies belong. Flushed down the toilet. One got very lucky the other day in my apartment. It crawled up into an air vent before I could squish it. I know they serve their purpose but I hate how they feel crawling on the skin. Or worse yet waking up with a red welt on the skin where they were feeding. A cringey frightening poem indeed. Thank you Shelley for the shivers.

[Shelley Warner]

Yes, I don't want them in my house either. But I try to do the compassionate thing and take them outside. I have flushed a few though. But this one made it into the toilet on her own.

[barleygirl]

Great job of turning reality into a creepy storyline for a fun seasonal poem! I've always been a fan of real life, compared to made-up ideas. Life is always stranger than fiction, as they say! (((HUGS)))

[Shelley Warner]

Thank you for that fun review.