spider
I saw a spider fall on my notebook and crawl across the pages.
One thing you should know about me is that I hate bugs with my whole being.
I have this very irrational fear of these tiny, menacing creatures, especially ants. I will shriek and smack the living shit out of one on sight.
I will kill any insect without hesitation, except for this one.
I can never bring myself to kill a spider.
No matter how loud I scream or afraid I get, I can never whack a spider dead with a flat surface. I run to my brotherās room to ask him to get it, or grab an empty container that can lock it in so I can throw it outside. If I catch a glimpse of one falling into a corner that I can never reach, I just cry myself to sleep.
Perhaps I owe that habit to a poem I once read when I was a kid (by Rudy Francisco).
She asks me to kill the spider.Ā
Instead, I get the mostĀ
peaceful weapons I can find.Ā
I take a cup and a napkin.Ā
I catch the spider, put it outsideĀ
and allow it to walk away.Ā
If I am ever caught in the wrong placeĀ
at the wrong time, just being aliveĀ
and not bothering anyone,Ā
I hope I am greetedĀ
with the same kindĀ
of mercy.