July 2017
John Morgan
jwmorgan@alaska.edu
jwmorgan@alaska.edu
Born in New York City, in 1976 I moved with my family to Fairbanks, Alaska to teach for a year in the creative writing program at the University of Alaska. I’m still there. I’ve published six books of poetry, as well as a collection of essays. My work has appeared in The New Yorker and Poetry, among other journals. For more information, visit my website: www.johnmorganpoet.com
In Spider Country
“Aversion is attachment in reverse.”—Carla Conforto
In a breeze the web expands and sways, its guys
thread to the porch post and a bench where no one’s
sat for days. The golden speckled spider’s tiny
for this grand elaboration of trap. Does she
even remember that she shaped it? Does
she enjoy the breeze or worry it may tear
apart her lattice? Now her job is repair,
heavy maintenance, not creation—hurry
as the wind picks up and gaps appear a fly
could buzz right through. Two hungers drive her, food
and another which is pulsing in her nerves—a spider’s
mothering thought. Where is that many-legged mate?
Rain at night. Next day, the web in tatters and
no sign of her. I hope she’s found a safer
place to weave. But as I lean in for a closer
look, a silken thread attaches to my cheek.
“Aversion is attachment in reverse.”—Carla Conforto
In a breeze the web expands and sways, its guys
thread to the porch post and a bench where no one’s
sat for days. The golden speckled spider’s tiny
for this grand elaboration of trap. Does she
even remember that she shaped it? Does
she enjoy the breeze or worry it may tear
apart her lattice? Now her job is repair,
heavy maintenance, not creation—hurry
as the wind picks up and gaps appear a fly
could buzz right through. Two hungers drive her, food
and another which is pulsing in her nerves—a spider’s
mothering thought. Where is that many-legged mate?
Rain at night. Next day, the web in tatters and
no sign of her. I hope she’s found a safer
place to weave. But as I lean in for a closer
look, a silken thread attaches to my cheek.
© 2017 John Morgan
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