So there I was, people.
Just toiling in the twilight (as usual) with my camera. Focused on my flower boxes. Word to wise: if you have not looked at flowers at twilight, you have not truly seen color ever in your life. So mysterious and other worldly that my camera has never ever captured it.
So, as I was saying, there I was doing what I always do.
When all of a sudden like little Miss Muffett, a spider sat down side of me. Well, didn’t sit exactly, he was dangling right next to my ear.
I brushed him away and nearly brought him tumbling down but thank god my aim was poor, it only glanced him. He was sent in a wild arc, legs akimbo, but as I backed away I saw him ascending a silken thread I literally could not see. He was on a mission, spinning, doing what spiders do all over the globe, but this one! This one, people, appeared to be climbing to the crescent moon!
I flew back into the house and called CNN. They put me on hold. When I rushed back to the yard, he was approaching Tranquility Bay for God’s sake!
Quietly, at twilight, when no one is looking, he climbs, reaching for the moon.
My eyes misted over. There was a catch in my throat.
Oh, no! What is going on? Is it heat stroke? We’re having a heat wave here– my cilantro grew one foot over night. Maybe the earth is emitting some potent silken threads as well? Maybe it’s PMS? Oh, that’s right, I haven’t had that for years now.
It’s just a spider for God’s sake! It’s just a camera angle. Oh. Oh. Oh.
Oh, it’s just all of us, isn’t it? Toiling quietly at twilight, invisible unless bumped into by someone looking somewhere else, spinning whatever threads we have, reaching for the moon.
That’s all it is, people.
(PS. That CNN misses all the really good stuff.)
©Pat Coakley 2008
PHOTOGRAPHS CANNOT BE USED WITHOUT WRITTEN PERMISSION
Oh wows! <– big! The one of the many things I love about your writing style is the fact that it creates the most beautiful vision before my eyes, the symbology in every word shines to my soul and pulls me in.
Never stop reaching for the moon, sometimes it is closer than we think, sometimes it is just our perspective or the angle we are looking at things that makes the moon seem so far away…
Beautiful!
CNN missed this one but Home Shopping Network is now bringing back the long lost Tuffet as a result of reading this post.
What you saw in a single spider is the basis for why Buddhists won’t knowingly step on an ant. This is where it all begins.
We all want to be seen, heard, felt and moved- some of the gifts you give your readers.
What a lovely piece, which has nothing to do with the fact tha you need a Xanex and a can of Raid .
O, boy! Potato Head has now mastered the comment section. Fasten your seatbelts, people. This is a man who knows his pharmaceuticals. But, pesticides? This is new.
As always, he makes me laugh out flippin’ loud.
Bonnieluria, I want to hug your knees. There. I’ve said it.
Sanity, girl–you, like the sun, keep coming up, day after day. I am lucky for this gift.
Just think of all the money that would’ve been saved if NASA had known about this technology years ago ;-)
You really do have a good eye.
I think that if I had have seen the same scene I would’ve only seen the spider and missed the connection to the moon.
It makes me think about all the other subtle stuff I miss.
Razzman, your eye would probably seen what mine did and the spider would have told you a story about his grandfather’s days in Vietnam spinning webs next to colorful homes and bombs exploding. We all lament things, Razz. Your eye, should not be one of them.
What a neat picture! What a beautiful shot at twilight. Mr. Spider is definately a brave one. I wonder if he hangs with Charlotte? I wonder if they talk about poetry and life and about strange humans with potato companions? Definately a wonder.
Maybe thinking he knows Charlotte is kinda like asking we Brits is we know the queen? Or someone from the UK asking an American – I have a cousin 3rd removed that lives in (name obscure place of your choice) do you know them?
Hmmm its a wonder.
Charlotte is with me and at the moment she is playing with my pet fly torturing the poor thing… she sends love though!
Amber! So true, just like asking a Brit if they know the queen. Hell, I’m going to ask anyway, do you? Blessings to you and Mom.
Did you ever see the footage, caught by some security camera, of the big spider that looked like it was climbing on the space shuttle as it sat waiting for launch day? That was amazing! But not nearly as gorgeous as your shot . . . so many elements coming together in one amazing snap.
And I just love the word “akimbo.” I have to find a way to use it in my next post . . .
No, Tysdaddy, I never saw that footage but I feel damn sorry for it when the launch happened. No silken thread is going to hold up in that furnace!
Delightful post. Beautifully composed pictures. I guess sometimes you just have to be open to the idea that great art (and inspiration) is all around you, invisible until you bump in to it. And I dislike spiders tremendously.
I was expecting, “… And now we go live to Mr Spud with an on the scene update!”
Twobyfour: Just when you least expect it, Mr. Spud will reappear. Trust me, his saga is not over!