I sat on the porch and watched
a spider spin her web.
She worked so hard.
Making things just so.
A place for everything and
everything in its place.
She was focused.
She was determined.
An artisan deftly applying her craft.
But then...
What seemed like the incidental movement
of an inattentive passerby
destroyed all the work to which
the spider had dedicated her life.
In one fell swoop,
she was surrounded by ruins
where her masterpiece once stood.
I mourned for the spider.
I expected her to crawl away
and simply give up.
Lord knows I would have.
But you know what....
that spider crawled to the corner of the porch
climbed up to the top of the rail
and started building again.
Nonplused by the destruction of her world,
the little spider set about the task of
rebuilding what nonchalance had destroyed.
It never occurred to her to do anything else.
Sandra, what a great thought. I had a similar experience watching the wonder of a little web builder in our garden one morning. Anyway, I loved the way you brought out the fact that we would just want to give up, but used the spider as an example of persistence and determination. Well done. I liked the style of your poem very much too. With love, Deb
