deadly

the prompt for November 14 was 'deadly/dangerous.'  i didn't have any good ideas until Carrie suggested writing about brown recluse spiders!  unfortuntely, i have direct experience with the same.  i was bitten on my inner thigh by one in 1999, while living in Lubbock.  we saw a few in Shreveport but they didn't seem to be a huge problem, although the piney woods region is prime recluse territory. after moving into this house in March, i began to find a few and first thought they had tagged along in packing boxes from Louisiana.  the exterminator, and later friends, assured me St. Louis is also a favorite habitat.  so, my 'deadly' poem follows. 

Deadly

hiding in dark corners

not large but venomous

having distinctive markings

yet difficult to identify

biding silently until bestirred

then attacking, often unseen

leaving a festering wound

how very like the brown recluse

is resentment

bh

nov 2011

you may wonder how this fits on a blog about 'hope.'  to my way of thinking, recognizing and dealing with our faults is a hopeful thing.  if i'm to move forward in life, in hope, i can't be stuck in unforgiveness.  shine a light on it!