His Greatest Creation

"Will you walk into my parlour? said the spider to the fly..."

Closer now, come closer, said the spider to the fly.
I've a tale to tell of creatures,
Far wickeder than I.

You see them walking, talking, said the spider to the fly.
Up about and over about,
So devious and so sly.

They move in armored beetles of every shape and hue.
Giants they, that roam this land,
Trampling on me and you.

I've heard them roar and bellow, like a lion or a bear.
Consuming all that they can claim,
With little thought or care.

With neither claw, nor venom, nor fang,
You'd scarce believe these beasts were fierce.
Yet even nature's mightiest, on walls they do hang.

A thousand ways and a thousand more, they've crafted for the kill.
None other in this hungry land,
Has ever shown such skill.

What are they called, you ask of me, oh precious little fly?
Demons dark, I'm frightened so,
That I envy you the sky.

Patience now, have patience, my pretty little fly.
My tale's not yet finished,
Come closer, don't be shy.

True it is that many a fly I've captured with my silk.
But heed me now, oh brilliant one.
My venomed fangs are blessings, compared to their ilk.

For even as I build my traps, my silken parlour lair,
These villains weave such complex webs,
That only foolish spiders dare.

They torture and they maim, these monsters tall and dire.
Destroying land and sea and sky,
With their thunder cloud fire.

Even their own cannot escape their wrath.
For stories old tell of two brothers,
Who walked along that path.

Finish now, I'll finish, poor frightened little fly.
You've played my game,
So here's the name, of those creatures that do lie.

Man, they are called, Man, said the spider to the fly.
The vilest of creations,
Forcing Mother Nature to cry.

So flee, I say, now flee, poor pitiful little fly.
Spread the tale of creatures,
Far wickeder than I...

Author's Note

Inspired by two poems; Emoticons by Quinfinn and The Spider and the Fly by Mary Howitt.

Reviews

[Belle]

A narrative prose poetry.
It embodies the characteristics of a prose, the use of direct simple language, and at times it has the characteristics of poetry : rhyme scheme ( on here is aba, cdc, efe, ghg...) and parallelism. If I would to ask, parallelism is one of the most important characteristic that a write should posses. I mean, what shall we do with all the literary works if they do not have something about the core value of humanity.

Cara, this is the kind that I always tell to myself whenever I write. Almost everything has been written and has made known, as writer from this contemporary world the challenge for me really is how I will present my subject and/or my message that will make it like new and will create different impact to the reader...And you just did it...

[Caradoc]

Thanks Belle.

I was just inspired by a short piece I read of Quinfinn's about humanity. After reading it, I wanted to write something about the darkness of the race, and then the line from "The Spider and the Fly" popped into my head and I got the idea for this poem. To tell it through the eyes of the spider, which is often portrayed as a hungry villain.

Everything else just flowed from there. I didn't really think about rhyme scheme or flow. It just had to sound right in my head and out loud.

[Belle]

Quinn must be proud of this. I always find a poem that sprang from another poem of a fellow poet from here honorable...If the rhyming scheme came out naturally, then you are a natural poet my friend. I was not wrong, you would come back more powerful...

[Caradoc]

I don't know. He hasn't read it yet and it has every few views, so yea. Thank you though.

[cimmy wuv xxxooo]

This is a very interesting piece, something different to write about I like that, your switching it up.
You show in this poem that you can write about, well just about everything, and when being a poet that's a great skill to have.
I love the way you wrote this out the way it comes together, and the rhyme scheme is just brilliant.
I see by reading this poem how these creatures feel about us human.
Although I think some of us humans can be just as scared of them as they are of us.
Brilliant write.... I really enjoyed this one.

[Caradoc]

Thank you. Glad you liked it. :)

Indeed this was a different piece for me. I had lots of fun with it even though it's message is somber and cynical.

[cimmy wuv xxxooo]

Different is good, you have done this poem justice :)
Your welcome :)

[KAin]

extremely powerful work, one of the kinds of poems I truly enjoy - a narrative form in verse.
It is a struggle, sometimes to create a poem that offers something beyond literary 'art', but with a message of its own.
The word 'fable' is used to describe a short fictional story, in prose or in verse, that features animals, plants or mythological creatures, or even inanimate objects and forces of nature, given human qualities (such as speech), that is intended to lead to an interpretation of a moral lesson, usually codified at the very end with a concise and meaningful aphorism or maxim.
The poem seems to suggest something of the truth of human nature, and whether what we do as a species is "natural" compared to the rest of the animal kingdom.
Somewhere, embedded in this clever piece is an ideal of an ideal.
Curious, powerful, and meaningful work, Caradoc.
Keep writing.

[Caradoc]

I like that; "Ideal of an ideal". Thank you for this wonderful review, Landred. You humble me.

[KAin]

You're most welcome friend. Your work is worthy of praise.

[Angi]

I can see the wicked little spider talking to that scared little fly. Very cool poem that sends a powerful message about humanity. Well done, Carodoc. Angi~

[Caradoc]

Thank you, Angi. I'm glad I could draw you into the spider's parlour for a little while. I hope you enjoyed your stay.

[Pax]

I felt the haunting voice of the spider, as if I was the fly listening to the tales of man. It’s always frightening how man can be so evil like saying goes: There is evil within us all, sometimes it feeds our hunger in many things and often goes out of hand.

Like the saying goes:
“Man creates his own destruction.”

The balance of life on earth often disrupt by man’s too many to mention mistakes that keeps repeating as if man himself never learns from it.

You give a chilling tale my friend.

[Caradoc]

Indeed. It seems as if mankind will never learn from its mistakes. As for this tale? It is merely a story often echoed in the headlines. You can find references to each verse everywhere you look, especially the "thunder cloud fire".

Thanks for reading and reviewing, my friend. It's good to see you returned from your break.

[Pax]

oh yeah, just recently got back from the week of vacation with just nothing to do... :)
but i did enjoy my rest... thanks my friend and your most welcome...

[Robbie~xoxo~]

Such an intriguing tale... a warning to mankind..
It can be wicked how we expose and destroy nature... it's a matter of respecting all living creatures...

Creatively written... Nicely penned! :)

[Caradoc]

Thank you, Robbie.

[quinfinn]

this is superbly well thought out and lovingly crafted. very impressive poetry.

[Caradoc]

Thanks again Quin. I wouldn't have thought to write this without you.

[quinfinn]

happy to have inspired you!

[Saumya]

wow Caradoc:) what an incredibly wonderful prose poem you wrote here..!

i completely loved reading every word of this..and yes indeed i must say, the spider is very right,
this exactly is the story of human beings today...
i also loved the concept of taking spider as the protagonist who itself is a creature, describing the pathetic story of humans to a fly...:)

i enjoyed the entire piece,but these lines were just great:

"Finish now, I'll finish, poor frightened little fly.
You've played my game,
So here's the name, of those creatures that do lie.

Man, they are called, Man, said the spider to the fly.
The vilest of creations,
Forcing Mother Nature to cry.

So flee, I say, now flee, poor pitiful little fly.
Spread the tale of creatures,
Far wickeder than I..."

very well done:)
cheers
saumya:)

[Caradoc]

Thank you, Saumya for such a wonderful review. I'm glad you enjoyed it.

[Saumya]

you are highly welcomed friend:)

[BelleMell]

Brilliant! I truly enjoyed reading this poem. It had the perfect sense of cleverness with a dash of reality. Very well written. I do love reading things like this, and I think there needs to more of this genre from writers.
Great job!

[Caradoc]

Thank you. I am glad you enjoyed it.