Unstructured Spiders

For the record, I'm an arachnophobe. Over the years, I've managed to desensitize myself to the point where I won't actually run out of a room, screaming when I see a spider, but I'm still not very fond of the evil, little bastards.

In spite of this, I can't help but to be mesmerized by this video of jumping spider mating behavior. Basically, what's going on, here, is that the male wants to have sex with the female. Unfortunately, the female tends to view all moving things as food, so the male needs to (very, very carefully) prove that he's actually a male jumping spider by sending her the proper signal.

Let's hope that she's in the mood.

Eight Legs

I used to play with spiders.

I would throw insects,
Into their webs:
Miniature sacrifices
To a child-size
Aztec pantheon.

Sometimes I would tease them
With twigs, twine, and debris –
Mock bugs sacrificed in effigy.

Then the dreams.

Perhaps I offended
Some arachnid god
With my impiety.

There were carpet crawling swarms.
There were things the size of dogs.
There were things the size of houses.
There were other things,
Worse things.

When I startled myself awake,
They would often scurry
Out of the nightmares:

I could feel them
Crawling between my sheets.

I envy arachnophiles.
I wish that I could see
Through their eyes,
Through my former eyes,
The graceful, beautiful efficiency,
The cruel indifference,
The magnificence.

But I can’t.

My Hell
Has eight legs.