The amygdala fires primitive, an untaught call to flight.
Spiders spark reptilian brains, urging us to fight.

The cortex fires a rational, well thought out disgust.
A spider simply cannot love, so killing it is just.

My brother coaxed me to replace my enmity with care
he taught me, a reluctant child, a spider’s life to spare.

Today my brother called me, and he is very ill
Now all I ask is mercy and I cannot bear to kill

A spider on a floating leaf fell in my pool today
I scooped her up and rescued her and let her walk away.