Criminal
Just as the water washes it
down the drain
I realize it doesn’t matter what kind of
brain a spider has
whether it knows fear
or not I could have carried it to the window
or waited to shower but this
was easier.
I was on time for the meeting
my afternoon nap then
the news. The way
the same day shatters some
coddles others. Even as it clung to the tile
the grace of its delicate
legs so beautiful.
I was relieved
when I couldn’t see it
anymore, began
immediately
to forget.
Melody Wilson’s work appears in Nimrod and The Fiddlehead. New poems will appear in Crab Creek Review, Kestrel, and Briar Creek. She received two Pushcart nominations in 2022 and was a semifinalist for the Pablo Neruda Award. Her chapbook Spineless: Memoir in Invertebrates comes out in August 2023. Find her at melodywilson.com.
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