Mrs. Spider’s Sparkly Web


School drop-offs and pick-ups can be challenging. Getting them dressed and fed before they leave for school can be a mammoth morning task. Especially if you have a toddler planning to blast the plan with some last moment tantrums. However, the little journey to and from the school can unfold unexpected moments of wonder, fun and laughter. Kids are keen observers and spare no opportunity to point out to any changes they see around the. Curiosity fuels their brains and countless questions are part of their armoury. 

We have seen the dawn of winters in this part of England. Morning fog, a misty air and cold breadth seem to await you outside your door. Dew drops adorn everything around, making mornings one if the most beautiful time if the day. My school-going son spotted a dew-dipped spider’s web on his way to the school and couldn’t be more curious. It excited his imagination as he painted a wonderful picture of the sight thereafter. I didn’t think much about it in hurry but dwelled on his observations once back home. I tried to enter his mind and portrayed a picture of his imaginings. Underneath is a poetic glimpse of how he would have said it had he said it.


Mrs. Spider's Sparkly Web 

On my way to the school, by the narrow pathway through the playground
I saw a spider’s web, hung on the grey railing upside-down
The magic of a misty morning, the foggy clouds in a dull wintery hue
Clinging to the loose strings of the web, a million drops of sparkly dew

As big or small, as close or sparse, as leaves of autumn barely gone
Sitting pretty on Mrs. Spider’s necklace, the shiny drops as the new sun shone
The web is not alone; its family sits on the railings, the hedges and the trees
They appear everywhere as I walk along, like booing me in hide and seek

On the bright green shrub, the old man’s windows and my neighboour’s door
Hey Mrs. Spider, shouldn’t you be busy? How do you follow me wherever I go?
I stopped in wonder, for a good look at you, and to count your furry legs once again 
Then said Mummy, “Hurry, we’ll be late for school, no stopping in the drizzly rain.”

I knew they were eight, your lots of tiny legs, like sides in an octagon
Your shiny threads like strings of a guitar, I could play them one by one
You are quite tiny and I ain’t afraid; I once held a tarantula in my hand
It was furry and kind and walked rather slowly, a mighty creepy crawling friend

But spiders can be fast as I have seen them, they quickly come and quickly vanish
At times they jump off their webs, like a gymnast practicing his tricks
Passing by a thorny hedge, on the narrow pavement I did see
Another big spidey’s web, dangling by the green dustbin

Dear Mrs. Spider, thanks for dropping me off to school today
Soon it will be home time. Until then, promise me that you’ll stay
We’ll walk back through the playground, the houses and the large field in between
So stay stuck, in your sparkly web, my spooky gift of Halloween


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