A spider was asked to give up the spinning of its web and to go and live
Where with human beings it could understand their sacred texts
The spider of course cared nothing for this and continued to spin its web
As for the sacred texts they remained unread by the spider
But that was yesterday today we are living with crueller events
The sacred texts have got themselves caught in the spider’s web
And like the sad end of a great novel are about to be eaten by the spider
So calm is the spider the time being now the feast being now so real is the carnage
Where is there a web like this the drumming of the immediate in the now
The sacred texts now sad sad little bundles the snags of
The here and now as mortal as mortality can get and
The spider see how it sleeps free of regret
See how in surviving it curls not into prayer or into the folds of a pre-eminent God
But spins shrouds for stars and stars for seeing bright the prey that might come
The spider owes them nothing

Ronald Rae