Li'l Spidey

Li'l Spidey creeps around at night and that defines his day;
(arachnid he, that spider term, a cool word I must say.)
A common spider, he makes home ‘neath cellar’s darkened joist;
one might think he would like more light, yet that is Spidey’s choice.

Now when the sun has gone to bed and stars bedazzle night,
Li'l Spidey spins a silken web and always does it right.
An endless stock of silk has he—that does seem to be clear;
he is construction animal, eight-legged engineer.   

He then decides to take his walk along the block-wall ledge,
and sensing moisture in the air he treks the shower’s edge.
I know that he has been there when the wisps of cobwebs flow;
that is Li'l Spidey's calling card, and it is apropos.

A millipede then happens by who stops Li'l Spidey cold;
to him it’s like a huge freight train with movement brash and bold.
Li'l Spidey knows he is outsized, and thus he can’t compete;
but as it passes he kills time by counting all the feet.

Back at his web Li'l Spidey scoots across those silken strands;
and size per size they supersede the strength of rubber bands.
Then he drops down, suspended on one strand to break his fall.
this is the spider’s bailiwick—arachnid wherewithal.

One day as he was hanging ‘round he noticed by the drain,
a tiny little crumb of bread, and so his plan was plain.
He made his way down to the floor but much to his surprise,
he could not take away the crumb because of its large size.

(Li'l Spidey’s eyes were often bigger than the things he saw;
  his eight legs average for his type—he had an average maw.
  So being that the crumb remained too heavy to move about,
  he planned to make plenty of trips, and thus he would eat out.)

Of course the web is Spidey’s net in which to capture food;
a plethora of gnats fly by for long time interlude.
And how our little spider can erect a web with will!
If one web happens to go down, he builds anew with skill.

The night gives way to rising sun, and Spidey plans his rest;
as all the little spiders go, he does his very best.
He seeks a nook beneath the house as nighttime starts to ebb;
Li'l Spidey will then, later on, seek out his world of web.


36 Lines 
Writer’s Cramp Co-Winner
3-7-20