Carmen

photo credit: Vidar Nordli-Mathisen (spider) and Kevin Grieve (web)

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Carmen is a code name

Carmen is a spy

Carmen is a spider 
stealthy, creative, loathed

when she should be beloved

she cleans your house
exterminates your pests
weaves wonder with invisible titanium thread

fosters feminist ties
              braided vows 
                       ropy umbilical cords

captures meal after meal after meal

stitches sentences
               sticky textile art 

while you are sleeping
Carmen’s quiet creations collect dewdrops
they become diamonds in the dawn’s early light

meanwhile, in your bedroom
Carmen’s web wrangles the mosquito 
and saves your droning dreams
                                 your innocent skin
                                                  your sanity

To the ones who pause long enough to get to know Carmen
	to watch sparkle dance on webs
        to look past hairy legs and venomous mouth parts
        to marvel at the audacity of a creature who makes a living dangling over the abyss

Thank you.

To the ones who recoil at Carmen’s appearance in sterile, man-made spaces

To the ones who cast her out of their homes—her home?—trapped under a glass

To the ones who smash her with rigid soles—souls?
leaving guts and magic in a stain on the carpet 

Know this:

There's no getting rid of Carmen
She will return
for there are thousands
                         millions
                              billions like her

They are her sisterhood
	her offspring
	her essence
	her tomorrow

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photo credit: Ibrahim Alkan

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