𝗝𝗼𝗿𝗼𝗴𝘂𝗺𝗼

𝘣𝘺 𝘙𝘪𝘤𝘩𝘢𝘳𝘥 𝘚𝘵𝘦𝘷𝘦𝘯𝘴𝘰𝘯

Jorogumo’s no Anansi imp;

ain’t no Japanese tarantula.

Can shape shift into a femme fatale –

An any-kind-you-fancy Nancy

or Betty Noir. Buxom brunette

with or without mole? Lusty surfer blonde?

Or black, high cheek and long-boned –

the kind you wanna take home to ma.

Exotic Asian – whatever amazin’ cliché

you got goin’, she’ll materialize for you.

Imagine the crookin’ capabilities

of eight fingers in two. That hullabaloo.

She’s gonna bleed you of your every resource

and then suck your soul thorough a hole

you didn’t know you had. Lust and pride? Poof!

She’ll ride you out to the sunset

and suck every bit of succulence

outta yer tired hide. Then abide

as a plump spider in a twelve-foot nest

in the forest between trees. Don’t do

to get on yer knees when you sproing into that net!

Richard Stevenson recently retired from a 30-year English and Creative Writing teaching gig at Lethbridge College and moved to Nanaimo, B.C. He has published thirty books and a jazz/poetry disc with Naked Ear.