Arachne

July 12, 2007

Returning home, they swarmed the walls,
festooned the corners with massive webs
and someone called for me to bring a broom.

But even in the name of holy cleanliness,
I will not kill my children,
not by the ones or by the thousands.

I will spin in the corner and weave on the old loom
and dream of husks and the sweet iron taste of blood.