The Arachnidan Araneide and the Musca Domestica

In collaboration with Ben Taylor, a fine word warrior :)

As the fiery teardrop of evening

Bursts upon the horizon,

I weave my iron hammock,

All eyes glittering in

Ravenous anticipation.

I and the shadows collude darkly--

Awaiting your arrival.

 

Wending my way
Through fruited garden
In search of treasure
I take without pardon.

To land from aloft 
On warm steamy goo
Tasting with delight
This joyous poo.

And once quite sated
I move on
To cooler climes
This garden spawned.

 

Glinting temptingly,

My steely dinner plate

Stretches limb

To limb.

And soon--

My bulbous stomach

Churns in delight--

It is you that will be

Stretched limb

From limb.

 

Buzzing about
Out of the Sun,
Feel the foreboding
Dampening my fun.

There's a vibe in the air
That makes me shiver.
Setting my hairs
all quite a-quiver.

For all the eye facets
sitting in my head,
I still miss the trap
set out dead ahead.

I can feel your approach--

A barely discernible thrumming

That agitates the threads of my

Handiwork.

My mandibles quiver

And drip

In excitement while

The winds soughs secretively

Through the evening,

Whispering you towards

My gullet.

 

Evasive maneuvers
They have no effect.
Tangled in this web,
"Oh, What the Heck!"

Wings rasping loudly
Trying to break free,
When suddenly I sense
What could only be...

My enemy most Arch
Evil eyes a-glitter
Racing down wires
Oh, how he skitters.

I laugh inwardly,

Hungrily,

As my supercilious stare

Condescends upon you.

Escape?

The very thought insults me.

Your frantic buzzes,

Imploringly urgent,

Evoke nothing from me.

Implausible and impossible,

Your continued survival is made

Increasingly improbable

As my constraints surround your

Thrashing wings.

How I struggle to be free

As you come quite near

Your fangs how they glitter

How plump is your rear.

 

Feeling the terror

deep in my being

Wings wrapped fast

In silken sheeting.

 

Quailing at the certainty

With which you approach.

And yet, a flicker of  hope

When shadows encroach.

 

An agitation of the wind,

A vibration less susurrous

Than that which the night

Should betray,

Causes me to freeze in

Apprehension

As my struggling supper

Loses even the dregs of my attention,

The faint glow of the night

Is changed--

More swiftly than the

Rasping of leather wings

On a midnight silence

Or the warm, mammalian

Bite of all that the

Darkness contains--

To the ubiquitous blackness

Of nonexistence.

As luck would have it

My executioner has failed

To finish me off,

And so I must regale

 

My frenemies

with a delightful tale

Being saved by fate

In moonlight pale.

 

Now, if only I were able

To free myself from

This quite dreadful mess

Wound about me bum....

Bzzt.

My consciousness

Crushed to

Confused

How?

I can't feel my

I hear mumbling

Thunder

Nature's laugh

Irony.

Author's Note

Ben Taylor and I collaborated on this piece.

Reviews

[FJ Davis]

You know what happens, don't you, to collaborators who talk?
Hate spiders; hate flies; regret the bat escaped unscathed (I believe the third player was a bat.)
You guys were, however, kind enough to kill off two of the three--and you did so in a nearly epic, extremely well-written, image-rich and lyrical manner.
Unpaid killers with style. That is, indeed, rare.
Gotta recommend this bilateral poetic endeavor.

[Kenneth The Poet]

Awesome work. I really like this poem, Judy.

[Audrey Howitt]

Wow! I am not sure who did what here, but fabulous work both of you. The voice and rhythm and flow are fabulous. I as with your arachnid from start to finish!

[Chris]

A seamless collab. The mindset intrigues me... taking on the 'role' spider - victor - hunted...

[Laughing-Bear]

My Dear Writing Friend Judy,
What a clever and uniquely written poem on a subject that most would never touch. You and your co-author painted a word picture that was clear and put me there in the web. A delightful read.

Blessings, Laughing-Bear

[Richielee]

oooh lully, in fact it's lovely jubbly !

[Lily Mae]

I love this so much..it made me smile. You both have told quite a story with this lol.xx