24 Poems ~ 24 Hours
The long skeleton-like feet
The hairy creepy face and body
We used to shout and jump when in sight
But do we know they creep from us?
The creepy one is afraid of man
Afraid of the giant that hurts and splats
Of one that hurts and not welcomes
A creepy-looking creature that creeps of man.
Also Untitled
Regardless of your itsy-bitsy status,
(and mine as being tuffetless)
little spider, breath seizes in my chest
and sweat plagues my brow
at the thought
of curds and whey for two.
HOUR NINE
How inside and outside of the glass wall is different?
The roof of Doric Temple reflects
umbrella-shaped sunbeams
-a prism
or an embroidered web?
Monochrome or a Polychrome web- another chase
Queen Cleopatra’s cat watches a spider
weaving silken threads- to hypnotizes
snake in a basket of figs
A golden cat sleep on a velvet blanket
awakening her feline prowess
to control shadows and webs of deceit.
Spider, a sly sleuth
explores vacant spaces
adorning a labyrinth with her gossamer threads, unceasingly.
Inside a glass wall castle- Rapunzel tangled in its own web.
Copyrighted by Ruchi Chopra, 2017.
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
It’s got to be four o’clock somewhere,
time to be civilized, and not think about
spiders or big worms coming out of the wall.
No rhyme or reason, but maybe a scorpion
or a gargantuan tarantula along a road in
Arizona. Surely it is time to finally finish off
the shortbread from Christmas, the puffy
little macaroons, pistachio and raspberry,
with a cup of that tea from Canada, King
Cole. No thoughts of black widows or
brown recluse, just remember that blackberry
cobbler and rice pudding from the deli that
would now be waiting for a midnight snack
if it hadn’t been eaten already, at noon.
Creator of the World and Mother to the Sun,
Neith of Ancient Egypt wove meaning and life from nothing.
Time passed, and her strength was woven into
Babylonia’s goddess Ishtar, whose political power, beauty, and fertility
Demanded the protection she gave in war and combat.
Her brazen strength woven indeed by her arms passed to
Arachne, she with a keen mind and deft fingers which tpleased and angered
The gods as she wove stories and emotions into lives and history.
Each has embodied the spirit of the spider,
A creature tiny, mighty, multifaceted in talent and patient with time.
Magical to some, reviled by many, she reflects exceptional strength
Drawn from within
Extending forward
Connecting
Pleasing
Glimmering in sunlight
Trapping those blinded by various forms of the dark.
Silken strength within these three females now persists in today’s women.
Whether in sewing shops, fashion industries, churches, civic centers, schools,
A strength emerges and grows, quiet yet powerful
In the weaving of new life, new communities, new possibilities.
Oh spider
so patient in your corner, hiding
amongst invisible strands
to trap unaware
all who would fly between.
With gentle geometry
you weave intricate, delicate
patterns
that when bejeweled with morning dew,
as diamonds would
sparkle
in simplicity.
Oh Spider,
your brilliant self-sufficiency
beguiles.
If only you believed.
He knew you could make it through.
He knew your trials and tribulations that would come. Therefore, he equipped you for battle.
You prayed for that day but, he already prepared the way.
He gave his son. Who came forth to forgive every sin.
He loved you so much that he chose you from your mothers wound.
You committed crimes and almost drunk yourself to death.
One call on your life brought many to learn his words.
You wasn’t ready or finished but, he called you home because you completed the task he had given.
You set the pathway to Heaven for not just a few but for many.
I have ambitions
To conquer the world
Of my dreams
As a spider did
To climb up the walls –
Never giving up the effort
Examine the tact of spider
It never webs on the floor