Arachne

Cherry

By onemorething

Fri, 08 May 2020
  • 2804 reads
10 comments
 

Each liquid strand hardens in air

and laced to another transforms

to ever more complex patterns

until a net is spun to snare the sky.

Her primitive mouth, 

the sharkeyed gape of a slaughter-man,

she smiles lopsided -

half satisfaction, half sorrow,

she nurses the tension 

on a tapestry of traps.

Someday, penitence may turn to metanoia,

the strings of humility pulled taut;

at the loom these threads of truth

are reeled from spinnerets 

to weave shame's strings.

And each beaded line clings

a sticky prayer, but you are not a god,

Arachne, no more than the dew 

is the morning caught in your web.

 

Image from wikimedia commons: 

https://commons.m.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Caspar_David_Friedrich_-_The_Woman_with_the_Spider_Web_between_Bare_Trees_-_1995.68_-_Cleveland_Museum_of_Art.tif

Certificate PG
Poem
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Comments

Submitted by littleditty on

but the dew is the morning caught...! Ok...it' not. Penitence to metanoia is such a good line - do those beads evaporate or fall? The transformation idea in this poem, I wondered if spiders cry? Your sad lopsided half smiler here, sits in wonderful lines - well-spun indeed. The ending is perfect!

 

Submitted by onemorething on

Ha. I like the idea of dew being morning caught too, enough to try and talk myself into it. Who cares about reality. And re the beads, I meant those beaded webs that some spiders spin. I don't know if it has a name, I try to know as little about spiders as I can as they terrify me, but some of them spin beaded threads as opposed to pure lines of web. I now also wonder if spiders cry, one might I suppose if they read this poem, about how unfair I've been, they probably do regard themselves as little gods of their own webs. Until they get eaten by a bird. Glad you liked my spinning. Thanks for reading it. Rachel :)

 

Submitted by Sooz006 on

Good morning, Rachel, good to see you again.  I love spiddey people, and as long as I can beat the  iguana and the kitten--I am the designated househoold spiddey catcher, savior of all. We have the most vocal cat in history, he's always yelling about something and he talks to them before he tortures, and I have to be careful where I release them because he watches, awaiting his moment

 

But back to your poem--beautiful and that last line is exquisit. Gorgeous imagery. Stay safe, honey. 

 

Submitted by onemorething on

Hi Sooz. I need a designated spider person! I can imagine that is a pretty heroic job in a household since most of us are on a spectrum from not keen to panic attacks. My cat ignores them, he prefers torturing mice outside and is a bit unimpressed by spiders so they're safe with him pretty much. Thanks for your lovely comment and reading it. Much appreciated. Take care too. Rachel :)

 

Submitted by drew_gummerson on

Another striking poem. Although I had no idea what metanoia was and had to look it up. 
 

Drew  

 

Submitted by onemorething on

Thanks Drew. Metanoia - yes, it's been on my mind for a while. I didn't know that I would end up applying it to a penitent spider. Thanks for the cherries too. Rachel :)

 

Submitted by Di_Hard on

Every time I try to write a comment on this Tina walks on the keyboard. Perhaps it is because she is advertisng her spider catching skills :0) I will have another go. I thought this was great!

I am scared of spiders, too. But found this radio program very interesting :

 https://www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/w3cszv5h

 

Submitted by onemorething on

Tina is welcome to paw across my poem advertising her skills. I will listen to the radio programme, thank you so much for adding a link to it for me. Rachel :)

 

Submitted by Di_Hard on

She is washing her paws, so, I found the feeling of brittle tension you have made very strong (though seeming delicate, as does a spider web.) Also the respect mixed with revulsion. And "you are not a god, Arachne" a put down to disguise fear ?

 

Submitted by onemorething on

I like brittle tension. Yes, perhaps, it was an interesting thing for me to write about because of my spider terrors, but initially I had been thinking about metanoia and it made me think of the Greek myth of Arachne who thinks she is superior at weaving to Athena, and whilst she is, she is humbled for comparing herself to a god. In one account, at least, Arachne is very penitent. So I guess originally I was sticking to the rough edges of the myth and reminding her that she was not a god too, but perhaps partially out of my own revulsion as well! When I looked for a photo, I had to confine my search to 'spider art' because I was too frightened to see a real spider...Thanks for reading Di, I love your comments, especially when Tina joins in. Please pass on my thanks to Tina for letting me know that she is brave around spiders. Rachel :)