Spider on the Porch
I saw her build it.
Then she sat in the middle
like a pea in a pod,
a child in a sandbox.
She waited,
turning her glistening body
this way, that way,
enticing beyond all reason.
And when they came,
she let herself down easy.
Devoured the poor chumps.
For weeks they flew her way,
attracted by the yellow light
on which she built her house.
Some figured it out,
but too late.
Chains from her body wrapped their
attention around each one.
Her lawn was littered with dead
carcasses, half-eaten hulks.
It was business as usual for her.
One day, with an old New Yorker,
I relieved her from dull duty
and inborn ingratitude.
But don't think I didn't sympathize.
I spend a lot of time, myself,
waiting for the right one
to come along.
I saw her build it.
Then she sat in the middle
like a pea in a pod,
a child in a sandbox.
She waited,
turning her glistening body
this way, that way,
enticing beyond all reason.
And when they came,
she let herself down easy.
Devoured the poor chumps.
For weeks they flew her way,
attracted by the yellow light
on which she built her house.
Some figured it out,
but too late.
Chains from her body wrapped their
attention around each one.
Her lawn was littered with dead
carcasses, half-eaten hulks.
It was business as usual for her.
One day, with an old New Yorker,
I relieved her from dull duty
and inborn ingratitude.
But don't think I didn't sympathize.
I spend a lot of time, myself,
waiting for the right one
to come along.