Never Prank your Prey
I really hope you land here,
a spider teased a fly.
Not if I can help it,
Was the dipteran’s reply.
The fly swiped at his cobweb,
but muttered just my luck
finding that he’d got himself
well and truly stuck.
The spider chuckled gently,
I’m vegetarian you know.
I only capture things for fun.
He let the poor fly go.
But the fly was livid.
He pulled out a spud gun.
I’ll get you back, he shouted
I think you’ve had your fun!
The fly then pulled the trigger,
the spider began to fall.
Reverb knocked the fly back;
against a nearby wall.
As both of them lay winded,
dizzy from the blows,
the fly said to the spider
I’m an idiot, I know.
I’m sorry that I shot you.
I’d like to make amends.
The spider said he’d been wrong too;
I should have been your friend.
The spider reached a limb towards
where the insect lay and,
shaking legs, they both agreed
to friendship from that day.
a spider teased a fly.
Not if I can help it,
Was the dipteran’s reply.
The fly swiped at his cobweb,
but muttered just my luck
finding that he’d got himself
well and truly stuck.
The spider chuckled gently,
I’m vegetarian you know.
I only capture things for fun.
He let the poor fly go.
But the fly was livid.
He pulled out a spud gun.
I’ll get you back, he shouted
I think you’ve had your fun!
The fly then pulled the trigger,
the spider began to fall.
Reverb knocked the fly back;
against a nearby wall.
As both of them lay winded,
dizzy from the blows,
the fly said to the spider
I’m an idiot, I know.
I’m sorry that I shot you.
I’d like to make amends.
The spider said he’d been wrong too;
I should have been your friend.
The spider reached a limb towards
where the insect lay and,
shaking legs, they both agreed
to friendship from that day.
This poem is copyright (©) Jo Weston 2024
About the Writer
Jo Weston
Jo Weston’s poems have been shortlisted in the Bridport Prize, longlisted in the Mslexia Poetry Competition and selected to be featured in the Erbacce Prize. Her poetry, short fiction and travel memoirs have been published online, in nine anthologies, and read on TV, radio, and at arts festivals. Jo has been Writer-in-Residence for Maggie’s Nottingham and for Writers Victoria in Australia. Her poetry pamphlet – How not to multitask – is published by Wild Pressed Books.