Silks ripple in the breeze,
heavy with sparkling dew;
every droplet
contains a speck of golden sunlight.
These fresh crystal balls
barely cause the tapestries to droop,
yet the intricate strands of each piece
are nearly invisible to the naked eye.
Crafted by master weavers
who calculate and consider everything,
down to the very fibres
best suited
for each section,
such wall hangings are among the best
nature has to offer.
For the overall frame
and anchors,
the strongest thread is used,
swapping to durable reinforcement
spiraling straight to the artwork’s centre.
Inner elements call for sticky coatings
and responsiveness,
enabling vibrations more delicate
than those of the finest tuned harp,
allowing immediate notifications
of newly arrived dinner guests
(or indeed, the main course).
Finally, neat additions of soft, plentiful gift wrapping,
placed here and there, create storage pockets
for perishable goods.
Unless all visitors have…departed,
in which case, the weavers work it
into cosy padding
to plump up their nurseries.
After finishing last-minute touches,
they tiptoe across their tightropes,
lounging at bullseye
or retreating to a nearby leaf
to admire their handiwork from afar.
Caring little
of what other species may think of their creations,
or whether the dew
might prove too weighty – for, of course,
it rarely does.
This poem is part of a project I’m doing to raise money for the RSPB, a UK wildlife conservation and protection charity. If you’d like to help, please share this poem to encourage others to take joy in nature, and if you have the time and means to donate, you can do so here. Let’s help keep our wildlife wild!
[Apologies for how these poems are formatted. I do write them in stanzas, but WordPress rarely decides to keep them, no matter how much I argue with it.]
Treeshallow Musings 