Cobwebs

[Ilya Shambat]

Cobwebs, cobwebs everywhere
In the water in the air
On the branches of the trees
In the foam of the seas -
On the skyscrapers and towers
On the grass and on the flowers
In the meadows, forests, lakes
In the rain and snowflakes
In the desert, tundra, hills,
On the tulips, daffodils,
In the jungle, on the ice,
On the ears and on the eyes,
In the clouds, in the sky,
In the place where shadows fly -
Cobwebs, cobwebs take each part
And connect it to the heart,
There to bring them into light
And replenish it with might.
In the intricate designs
Live the how's, the where's and why's
That connect each part to all
And through pieces and the whole
Manifests the gorgeous web
Of the world, as spiders grab
By their ignorance and lies
Moths, mosquitoes, wasps and flies.

Spider! Spider! Speak your mind –
Are you gentle? Are you kind?
Are you, like they say, a fiend?
And who – you or they – have sinned
More and harder? Are you glad
For what you have always had?
Who has made you? Did he smile
To see you to be his child?
Or did you from genome make
What they thought was a mistake
Till your perfect webs you made
And with their perfection played
In the wind and in the rain
And, as insects went insane,
Made them vanish with no trace
In your poisonous embrace?

Cobwebs! Cobwebs! Here you are -
Be you near, be you far,
You are hanging everywhere
In the water in the air
Taking substances of life
And from them the truth derive.
For who made the cobwebs all
Made them grasp the mind and soul -
From the world, like from a fly,
To wring life and suck it dry -
And then make it food for webs
Or for others still, perhaps
Or for passion, or for bliss,
Hoping for eternal peace.

Spider! Spider! Take what’s here
Every laughter, every tear,
Every truth and every lie
And wring, just like from a fly,
Its quintessence and its juice –
Its intention and its truth –
And then make it live again –
And no longer live in vain,
But go where they’re needed most;
Walking through walls like a ghost,
Reaching minds and reaching hearts –
Just like arrows, just like darts –
Or like bullets as they zoom:
Bring the joy, dispel the gloom
And bring all eternal youth –
Cobwebs, cobwebs made of truth!

https://sites.google.com/site/ibshambatpoetry
Ilya Shambat