Black Widow

spider caught
up in its own web
legs spread in dire
mortality f***ed by the
rotting cornice spinning
webs that lack shape, eratic
in true form

preyed upon
by the mud-dauber,
waspish sting in a backlash
after the black widow sucks out
the contents

enforcers
wolf spider and
fire ant, ethereal
messenger sphinx moth,
ankh reigns upon the horseshoe

the story told in
the bunkhouse, oil
lantern lighting the night's
amber aglow in the mason of
whiskey, saddle soap getting low
in the tin, stirrups adjustment before
lights out, checking bed, walls and boots
for the black widow, tomorrow's cows scratched
for ticks


Copyright Ms. Sage Sweetwater, firebrand lesbian novelist