Tenderness

it started as a stitch
lower left, on his back
over time it got worse
as he favored it

so thoughtful and gentle
she coaxed the spider in
to a cup and helped it
out through the window

the more that it pained him
the less he moved about
but inactivity
only worsened it

once loosened on the world
without the safety of
the house, the spider soon
withered into limbo


Poetry Scales 264