In The Company Of Annabel

In The Company Of Annabel

Annabel walks her eight legged friend
On a leash for the sake of safety into town
On a cold day born straight from autumn
At least the chill will keep them on the narrow

The birch tree shares her soul with God
Leaves crisping, as of late, now lost of shade
Share their demise scurrying off deciduous
Around the ground before the snow sets in
Covering their merriment for the sake of silence

The white spider could easily be misunderstood
For purity is surely not a name for killer pets
An oddity in nature governed not by love
With a red hourglass printed on the back
By design or crime, advertising black widow
But what is death but another name for heaven

They only stop to watch the skeletal remains
Of what was once in spring a thing of beauty
A birch by any other name is still a tree

Annabel spins a silver silken web of lies
To passers by who wonder why
She tells them it will not bite
But if it does we all must die sometime

The creature has the situation well in hand
Being at the end of her sweet masters tether
Should she eat her mate or simply take a bite
Surely it would be by mistake or pleasure
And with so many legs to walk around
Stepping out on the town for fun
They must feel comforted in each others company
As long as the strap holds out