Curious Contradiction
I suppose we are all curious contradictions. I certainly am on the subject of spiders. I confess that I don’t like spiders. Or, to put it more accurately, I don’t like them in the same room as me. And the contradiction? I do like spider’s webs; I like them very much indeed.
When I’m out walking, especially in the morning, I scan the hedges for webs bejewelled with dew-drops and fish out the magnifying glass I keep in my walking frame all the better to admire their exquisite beauty. I know that spiders made the webs, and I accept that they are very efficient traps for the insects that make up spiders’ diet, but I still study their beauty through my magnifying glass and continue my walk uplifted. I’ve even written a poem about them.
A curious contradiction? That’s me!
The spider
All night long she wove
a web of finest silk,
hanging it out on a bush to dry
and try
to catch for breakfast
some insect
all unsuspecting
on its early morning flight
but caught instead
a million drops of sunlight.
Written for the Scottish Fellowship of Christian Writers and used by kind permission
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