Black Widow
.
We spent the day packing up her cottage,
a cute mid-century modern structure
that looked like it could vanish in a puff
of dust if a strong enough breeze blew past.
I was carrying one of the last loads
through the kitchenette and out to the car
when I heard her call me from the bedroom.
Her voice wavered slightly, as though fearful.
She had stopped in the middle of her task,
rolling up a carpet from Kazakhstan,
and pointed at the floor in front of her
where a spider lurked by the rug's fringe.
Its shiny abdomen gave it away -
dark as pitch, round as a drop of poison -
with long, spindly legs and a tiny head.
We shuddered instinctively at the sight.
Neither of us wanted it dead. I tried
to wrangle it inside a paper bag,
but it would not be easily trapped
and scuttled off whenever I got close.
Such a small thing, yet so deadly as well.
I am not proud of how I used a broom
to sweep it onto the floor, then stamped out
its life under the toe of my sneaker.
Although I think we both felt relieved,
and she thanked me for taking care of it,
I saw her face contort with a hint of sorrow.
I have to say I shared her sense of remorse.
Later that evening, we told this story
to her parents over dinner. Her dad
expressed dismay when we finished our tale,
almost like the spider had been a friend.
.
We spent the day packing up her cottage,
a cute mid-century modern structure
that looked like it could vanish in a puff
of dust if a strong enough breeze blew past.
I was carrying one of the last loads
through the kitchenette and out to the car
when I heard her call me from the bedroom.
Her voice wavered slightly, as though fearful.
She had stopped in the middle of her task,
rolling up a carpet from Kazakhstan,
and pointed at the floor in front of her
where a spider lurked by the rug's fringe.
Its shiny abdomen gave it away -
dark as pitch, round as a drop of poison -
with long, spindly legs and a tiny head.
We shuddered instinctively at the sight.
Neither of us wanted it dead. I tried
to wrangle it inside a paper bag,
but it would not be easily trapped
and scuttled off whenever I got close.
Such a small thing, yet so deadly as well.
I am not proud of how I used a broom
to sweep it onto the floor, then stamped out
its life under the toe of my sneaker.
Although I think we both felt relieved,
and she thanked me for taking care of it,
I saw her face contort with a hint of sorrow.
I have to say I shared her sense of remorse.
Later that evening, we told this story
to her parents over dinner. Her dad
expressed dismay when we finished our tale,
almost like the spider had been a friend.
.