Tied Up

The web’s strands tie me up like

A dog on a leash, or a fish wrapped

In fishing line.

They’re the same thing, anywho,

Fish and dogs, spiders and people, habits

And dreams.

We run to the beat of feet pounding

On concrete, our blood pushes us

To take the next step, the plunge

Into tomorrow. And what if our homes

Were switched? If I lived in a web

I’d make it the best you’d ever seen. 

I’d expel fishing line from my rear, attaching

Ends to every skyscraper I see. I’d trap 

Yellow warblers to snack on 

Until their larger cousins, the crows, crash

Through my home and bring me tumbling

Back down to Earth.

I fall in the river where spiders

Swim, and dogs lap it up while

They paddle.

Overnight, I pick up the pieces. Attaching

One end to every object in sight, I set up 

My lines with extra supports, knowing

They may come crashing down again. 

Photo by Jerad Bryant

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