In shadows deep where darkness hides
There lies a bag of eight-legged horror
A bag of spiders where dread resides
Creeping and crawling, causing sorrow

With nimble legs they dance and sway
Each spins a thread, a delicate art
A web of wonder, they work their way
To weave their silk and do their part

They scuttle and scurry, never at rest
Their beady eyes, like gleaming gems
Silent whispers in a world obsessed
Reflecting secrets, known only to them

Oh, the bag of spiders, a curious sight
But hidden within their fearsome guise
Eliciting shivers, invoking fright
Lies nature’s marvel in miniature size

A bag of spiders, misunderstood
For spiders, in truth, are nature’s aide
Not causing harm, but doing good
Keeping balance, so be not afraid

So let us ponder with open hearts
A bag of spiders, for if you did
You’d see how nature plays her part
And applauds the bag of arachnids

Sometimes I see the look of love
And wonder at the site
As warm as sunlight from above
Concealed like rain at night

Eyes that reveal a brightness quick
And shyly turn away
Just like the candle’s burning wick
Turns night into the day

The look of love is loneliness
When special ones are gone
The spirit hits a lowliness
Like words without a song

The look of love is bashful laughter
When two souls blend as one
The gentle glow and moments after
The look of having fun

The look of love is like the wind
That blows from clouds above
It lifts the lonely heart and mends...
I love the look of love

I did not know about the world, I grew up on a farm
Into the city I was hurled, it was cause for alarm
I found my solace and retreat, with tenants of the zoo
The animals that I would meet, were friendly to me too

His gentle eyes of wisdom bright, a creature to behold
This proud gorilla was a sight, a mighty presence bold
With grace his muscles ripple strong, a testament of might
His chest beats rhythms’ primal song, affirming his birthright

It was his eyes, that knowing gaze, that brought a world untold
A look that pierces through the haze, to help nature unfold
Quietly he would sit each day, he hardly ever moved
Indifference to what one would say, with nothing left to prove

In the primate house time would pass, I’d watch the people too
A few would yell or tap the glass, with nothing else to do
The gentle eyes would glance at them, and then would move along
But I noticed as I watched him, a glimpse of something wrong

I had observed this same old friend, and recognized that look
An agitation on his mend, I read him like a book
His annoyance was clear to me, although no one would know
I would have to wait and see, his anger bubbled slow

A thickened strong glass-like front wall, with concrete all around
Completed the habitat stall, so safety there was found
And then that fateful day arrived, busloads from nearby schools
Their youthful spirit was revived, by breaking all the rules

I sat there calmly in my chair, as they all crossed the line
The noise and chaos filled the air, I watched him for a sign
Unmoving he just sat there bold, I saw it in his eyes
Not sure of what might now unfold, nor what might now arise

The kids were knocking on the glass, and taunting my best friend
So I was hoping this might pass, and safely find the end
Then all at once he sprang to action, and struck the front glass wall
The kids were screaming, losing traction, I watched them as they’d fall

The shock of sound and vibration, that centered from his force
We now got an education, and feared the mighty source
That havoc and confusion reigned, the evidence was clear
His power need not be explained, as you could feel the fear

They ran out every door and gate, they disappeared so fast
My heart dropped back to normal rate, the fright was now the past
And just like that, we were alone, my friend looked down at me
And as he sat back down at home, as plain as day I see

Those knowing eyes and slightest grin, his laugh at our expense
Though when his movement did begin, my fright was most intense
With grace and strength he taught us all, his realm untamed and free
Sometimes it takes a bantam brawl, gorilla comedy

The clearing in the woods is where
I find solace and solitude

I call it “the glade” as it caresses
The covert, ceaseless, controlled calmness
That captures my core and character

Like a meditative mantra,
It manumits the melancholy misery
Of mundane mortality

Quiet and still, the glade is an asylum
For amnesty, absolution and
Apology of the mind

In a whimsical world, where riddles take flight
I found myself in an enchanted light
A serpentine whisper, soft as the wind
To a coiled snake, it drew me in

In shadows deep, where secrets hide
An interview with a snake I tried
Coiled and poised, its eyes did gleam
A creature ancient, from a distant dream

“Good day”, said the snake, with a glint in his eye,
“An interview for you, I surely will try
I have a tale to tell, a curious quest
Of secrets untold, and you’re my honored guest.”

I inquired of its secrets, of life’s hidden art
And it began to unwind, ready to impart
“Listen closely,” it hissed with a whispering tone
“For truths lie in places where fear is unknown”

The snake spoke of cycles, of rebirth and change
How shedding old skin brings growth in its range
Its venomous words, a potent elixir
Unveiling the depths of existence’s mixture

I learned of balance, of yin and yang’s grace
Of how opposites merge, in an intricate embrace
With every question it slithered and curled
Revealing secrets that unraveled the world

The serpent’s wisdom flowed through my veins
As I understood, I was shedding old chains
From ancient myths to the stars up above
It showed me the connections, the tapestry of love

As the interview ended, I felt transformed
Enlightened and humbled, my mind reformed
For within the coiled snake, a universe I found
An interview divine, in wisdom profound

I know a place where words are bent
Their meaning will never be still
When you arrive and your time is all spent
You will have arrived at Dorchville

With Dorchville flandered the dumpkin kingfisher
In rocoroyal the flashblue fluger
Wasted the ibeniss of landers and hoofers
Ignored the stainbreath and dagcallers whimper

So willness of beurse the tamey from comey
And rolo ignorest may beechoff that vercove
The rosets draw sprigly from diurts so nosplay
And landers and hoofers now quacker and strutter

One more time and out the door
I could not ever ask for more

I think we knew it was a crime
But we just had so little time

I heard a crash and then a shout
And soon we labored soaked in doubt

The rope was tight but now went slack
And so there was no turning back

And now our fervor turned to fear
As running guards were coming near

We thought that we could make a run
But now we know we’re really done

So freedom is a fleeting fire
Escape is an enticing liar

Now time is added to our stay
It’s time to plan another day