When Was the Last Time You Examined the Cobwebs In Your Mind?

It has been seven months since I published my first piece, Cobweb, a poem about becoming entangled in something or someone.

As I look back on the words, this poem reminds me of the past, what is yet to be known, and the present.

Cobweb, with only 79 views and four likes after seven months, is palatable for me. Genuine transformation takes time and effort. Time to process the events of the past and effort to change the future.

So, here is Cobweb, a poem entangled in thoughts of the past, what is yet to be known, and the present.

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Silken thread, geometric dread

Intricately weaved, warnings of red

Spiders and cobwebs have always intrigued me. I love watching a spider as it diligently weaves its web; the antithesis of its strength and the beautiful, thin complexity of its silken thread captivates me. And when a drop of dew hanging on its silken thread catches a ray of sun, it is like magic.

Fascinated, haunted

I have observed as an insect flew into a spider's web. At first, the insect is only held by a single thread. But as it writhes and wiggles, it inadvertently becomes more entangled until it can no longer move. This is when it truly becomes prey.

Thin lines wanting, hunting

Consuming, tormenting

While watching nature take its course—I do not feel bad for the insect, and I do not think ill of the spider. They were designed to interact in this way. Circle of life? Survival of the fittest? But I often wonder if the insect had remained calm, thought it through, or if it had seen the single thread entangling it; could it have escaped from the web?

Truth twisting

Fingertips spinning

Captivating

Poison cascading

Hoping

What happens when I have become the insect, and you the spider? Was I too mesmerized by the glint of the sun in your web to recognize the danger? Did I ignore all the warnings in red? Or is this all just a part of the circle of life? Survival of the fittest?

Darkened thoughts

Insanity gained or lost

Orchestrated across

You convinced me I was insane. Had I lost my mind, or was I regaining my perception?

My mind

Unconfined

~

Cleared, crystallized

Cold blue, hematic red

Was nothing making sense because I had realized the beautiful threads keeping us entwined were not made of silk but lies?

Lucid, freed

I cut myself out of the shell I had conceded to live in and realized that I had two choices: I could die within the security of my confines, or I could jump. As I fell, I realized that I had to relearn how to live again, to breathe again; and in between desperate gasps, I learned how to fill my lungs again.

Gasping—desperate attempts

To fill my lungs

But the truth is that learning to live again is not easy. I am often confused and frightened by the light, the glint of the sun—wondering if I am falling into another web. It is hard to trust my mind when it has let me down so many times before; trusting it, when it led to the darkness when I thought I was chasing the light.

Discovered

In my story, I was the insect, and you were the spider. But perception is not reality, and reality is not always our perception. We cannot control the way someone else writes our story. In your story, I imagine you would probably say, I was the spider, and you were the insect.

Uncovered—the truth

There is no truth

When was the last time you examined the cobwebs in your mind?

To read Cobweb, in its original form click on the link below.