It was October, an early freeze
when I nearly lost the driveway spider.
She was not the biggest
or the most impressive but
there was something to be said
about her boldness
how she perched just
above head-height
in such a well-trafficked spot
so it was a disappointing morning.
Her yellow body
still stuck to her web
had dulled
and grayed
and her legs were curled
sharply inward
in what looked
like death.
But it rose to 60 degrees
by day’s end
and I got home
to find she had unfolded
and resumed living.
Before, I had thought
she was like a sentry
her web a ghost-catcher
that kept my cottage safe.
I see her better now. Small
and helpless
against impending death
but bright. Resilient
in its shadow. It is
a gift to savor
this daily passing
beneath the fragile
masterpiece of her life.