Two Poems about Spiders (and a Fish in a Net)

Tarantella

Once you have been bitten,
through your vein
the poison curses courses.

Through the pain
you writhe and sweat –
this fish caught in a net –

it dances.

—
The above is a reworking of this:

Tarantella

Once you have been bitten
through your vein
the only way to rid yourself
is to dance.

Once bitten through the vein,
the poison curses courses.
The only way to cleanse yourself?
To dance

Once you have been bitten,
through the pain
you writhe and sweat –
this fish caught in a net –

it dances.

—
Which do you prefer?

At the moment I seem to be on a fish theme, which is now branching into spiders. Of course, these are mythico-fictional animals. The creatures that feature most regularly in my life are the bumblebees who love the gutter outside my window and the dogs walked by their owners in a local wood.
—
For more of my poetry, preview my recently published first volume: SHINING IN BRIGHTNESS.
I tweet regularly as @BeadedQuill.