The Rule for Spiders

The Rule for Spiders

All spiders are basically good.
Or, only certain spiders
can be trusted. What’s the rule.
For remembering which
spiders mean to do you harm,
what do their bellies
look like. Are they marked
with an hourglass,
a stripe or spot. Which ones
eat other bugs for you,
pitching in, gobbling up gnats
as a gift. Do they worry
when they don’t make productivity
for the month. Can
spiders even worry, or any animals
other than humans.
Are there neurotic daddy longlegs,
manic tarantulas,
what does today’s web mean.
Like every nesting,
hungry creature, spiders fear us.
How to hold onto
that when one lowers onto the arm
of the sofa from
the lamp, sensing no threat.