Searching for the purple tarantula

We arrived at the cloud forest

Los Cedros, Ecuador, at night

                                                  Our luggage carried by disgruntled mules

                                                                     Quickly we retired,

                                                     having fought many imaginary snakes

 My morning shower was invigorating,

 fresh water pumped from the river

Relaxed I looked at the magical vista

of the valley below

The forest contained greens of many hues

with the mist rising like God’s kettle

Later I volunteered to clear the trail

and saw owl butterflies as big as bats

and black ants as big as bullet

A bright parrot in a tree

 seemed to be looking at me

On our days off we could explore

to see what nature we could find

I heard others tell of a rare tarantula

purple-legged with black abdomen

and ventured to find such a fine specimen

I saw it’s haunt, a deep hole

covered with a thick webbing

and then days went by on the trail

but all to no avail

One day as I dreamily wandered

suddenly I heard a roaring sound

Maybe it’s el tigre, jaguar!

My heart sped like a runaway train

A tiny bird came into view

shining with purple, green

and blue iridescent light

A sapphire hummingbird

It’s rapid wingbeats giving it flight

Although the purple tarantula

I never did see,

other treasure,

no less fascinating or beautiful

waited for me