Confessions of a Black Widow by Meredith C Hartwelli. i watched a cricket take three days to die last summer. it had lost a leg, could not escape or sing, but i did not have the strength to kill it myself. [cries for help are always silent in cheap motels.]
ii. i told him stories of lightning bugs searching for a mate, flickering in synchrony, "is it you?is it you?is it you?" [.it's.not.me.] but what if your echo has already met fate on a highway windshield?
iii. he told the story of two bees fighting mid-air before dropping at his feet. in late august, drones contend for the attentions of the virgin queen. death in flight is nobler than the cold starvation of autumn.
iv. you told the story of a moth's attraction to flame, spiraling obliviously to her demise unless someone flicks her back into the darkness. sometimes, i am your moth. so often, you swat me away, but i can't keep from gravitating to your light. [you will be the death of me]
v. i always knew she was beautiful, but this was her summer of transformation. my moth's grey will never compare to her color.
vi. we spoke of dungeons and dragonflies and the complications of backbones. Nature has a way of making men so much lovelier when they have six legs and wings.
09/19/2002 Posted on 09/19/2002 Copyright © 2025 Meredith C Hartwell
Member Comments on this Poem |
Posted by Anne Engelen on 12/09/02 at 09:52 PM I do not have words to do this poem any justice. It's just amazingly wonderful!! |
Posted by Allan Haslinds on 04/19/03 at 06:15 AM This poem make me wish I had written it. |
Posted by Agnes Eva on 05/18/03 at 04:18 PM what a wonderful poem. i feel like i've just looked through a magnifying glass and overheard the thoughts of a microcosm :) |
Posted by Jane E Pearce on 05/18/03 at 04:36 PM Wonderful!!! What a mix of a story with a meaning. Liked "screams not heard in cheap motels"
Jane |
Posted by Ken Harnisch on 05/21/03 at 03:27 PM You have an ironic eye that is so deep and searingly insightful as to pain. "Nature has a way of making men so much lovelier when they have six legs and wings." Ouch, says this smiling two-legged kind..:) |
Posted by Michele Schottelkorb on 10/05/03 at 07:45 AM this poem has blown me away... the nature approach you took to describe this is awe inspiring... this is truly amazing... blessings... |
Posted by Delilah Coyne on 12/09/06 at 02:31 PM Each portion packs such a punch! So thought provoking and eloquent. Just amazing!! |
Posted by Tony Whitaker on 01/17/07 at 09:55 AM Wow! This makes me wonder where your head was when you wrote this piece. Great character development!!! |
Posted by Philip F De Pinto on 04/12/07 at 09:07 AM funny, how it took a cricket to die in order that a poem such as this might live and take flight in and across the infinite vaults of the imagination. |
Posted by Melissa Arel on 09/12/07 at 01:12 AM these are amazing!!! love it :) |
Posted by Peggie Eng on 12/12/09 at 05:34 AM Words fail.. the imagery is vivid..quite brilliant
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Posted by Bertram Sparagmos on 10/26/12 at 02:09 PM Extremely original. |
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