The Spider Sonnet by JohnWhitworth

‘The solution to pollution is not eating spiders’: Newspaper headline

The solution to pollution is to stop ingesting spiders,
Just say no to the arachnida that copulate inside us,
How they pullulate and ovulate, the octopod articulate,
Auriculate, testiculate and oft times unguiculate,
The narrative of nightmare and the stuff of holy terror,
They’re the creatures that convince you all your life has been an error.
So you’re sicker than a parrot and you wish that you were dead?
Just you wait till they migrate and drill themselves into your head.
Creepy-crawly, creepy-crawly with a subtle sideways motion,
Some detestable detritus from the bottom of the ocean,
Something feral, fanged and furry with a flush of nasty habits,
Now they’re ferreting like ferrets, now they’re rabbitting like rabbits,
Now they’re occupying occiputs and populating dreams…
Eating spiders isn’t nearly as attractive as it seems.