Big Enough

On Gilligan’s Island
and in the Harry Potter series
spiders appear that are enormous
bigger than you or me
They carry their heavy bodies
on stick-thin legs
Towering creatures
of improbability

But how big must a spider be
to be scary?
A spider as big as a watermelon
would be terrifying enough
Even one as large as a Frisbee
or a teacup

In Ecuador
a spider lived in my kitchen
It was as big as my open hand
and occupied the corner of the ceiling
above the door

Every morning I entered my kitchen
through that door
then turned to look
to see if the spider was still there
It always was.

The spider sat in that corner
all day, every day
At night it would come down
and feast on the cockroaches
that were endemic in that country

The scary bit, it turns out,
was going through that door
not knowing
Once I spotted her
saw her securely in her corner
content
it was fine
We both went on with our days

And in the end
I realized
I dislike cockroaches
much more than spiders