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| If the writing's not always top quality at TIAPOS, the snacks are. One sample from last night. |
Prompt: SCUM
A long-legs took up residence in my bath.
A peaceful daddy name of Greg.
All day long he’d sit up in the corner by the roof.
At night he’d amble over to the tub,
Lower
himself
in
Not to rinse his legs off I’m afraid–
But to gather bits of scum up for a snack.
And then he’d wobble back.
(To you that won’t sound appetizing
But for a spider, not surprising.)
I didn’t want to throw out Greg.
I’d learned my lesson well
Last time around:
I’d grabbed a daddy by one leg
And hell! It broke right off,
And then he fell.
Traumatic for us both!
You can argue, “He had 8!”
But losing even one limb can’t be great.
I unrolled some tissue then,
Escorted out the rest of him.
Then this one came along.
He even had a name! I let him stay
Until the day I saw a second spider on the floor.
Though life with Greg had not been bad
–I know the math does not compute–
Somehow now two spiders
were too many and not cute.
Tired and overwrought I squashed them both.
My sorrow was profuse.
“I hope you guys come back as someone great!
A mogul and a fashion plate.”
It was no use.
Greg, he wasn’t happy being gone.
His spider soul accosted me at dawn
Hovering near the heater grate:
“Was it something that I ate?”
