Classic and Contemporary Poetry
THE SPIDER, by EDWARD LITTLETON First Line: Artist, that underneath my table / thy curious feature hast displayed Last Line: Ends both the spider and the poet. Subject(s): Animals; Butterflies; Insects; Spiders; Wings; Bugs | ||||||||
ARTIST, that underneath my table Thy curious feature hast displayed, Who, if we may believe the fable, Wast once a lovely, blooming maid; Insidious, restless, watchful spider, Fear no officious damsel's broom; Extend thine artful structure wider, And spread thy banners round my room. Wiped from the great man's costly ceiling, Thou'rt welcome to my dusty roof; There thou shall find a peaceful dwelling, And undisturbed attend the woof, Whilst I the wond'rous fabric stare at, And think on hapless poet's fate, Like thee confined to lonely garret, And rudely banished rooms of state. And as from out thy tortured body Thou draw'st the slender strings with pain, So does he labour like a noddy To spin materials from his brain; He, for some flutt'ring, tawdry creature That made a fluster in his eye, And that's a conquest little better Than thine o'er captive butterfly. Thus far 'tis plain you both agree, Your deaths perhaps may better show it; 'Tis ten to one but penury Ends both the spider and the poet. | Discover our Poem Explanations and Poet Analyses!Other Poems of Interest...THE EXHAUSTED BUG; FOR MY FATHER by ROBERT BLY PLASTIC BEATITUDE by LAURE-ANNE BOSSELAAR BEETLE LIGHT; FOR DANIEL HILLEN by MADELINE DEFREES CLEMATIS MONTANA by MADELINE DEFREES THOMAS MERTON AND THE WINTER MARSH by NORMAN DUBIE |
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