Message to a Spider Named Anxiety

Lee, 12th - United Kingdom
Hello! I see you up there, you know.
Hanging about near the mildewed vent
A dark spindly smudge against the white tile.

Sure, I could leap up from the water.
Leave a frantic track of soap suds in my wake
As I slam the bathroom door and shout -

‘I’ll never go in there again!
What if it pounces, what if it bites me?
What if there are more hiding in the corners?’

Or I could threaten you uselessly with a shampoo bottle
As the bubbles disappear and the water goes cold
And I worry you’ll slip out of sight.

And you know, maybe some other days
I will.
It’s easy to forget sometimes,

That even with your gangly, spangly legs
Your thick tickling hairs
Your clickering mandibles that whisper soft fears

That you can’t really hurt me.

So here’s what I’ll do.
Later, when my hair is drying,
I’ll gather you up into a glass.

Smile at you as I carry you downstairs
And set you gently down in the garden
As I wonder how you ever could have seemed so big.

But right now, I’ll stay where I am.
Sink down into the soft, warm water,
Close my eyes

And simply
Allow us

To coexist.