Of Country, World, and God -or- Spiders and Ants

As cities sprawl like spider webs,
Lady Liberty, like a mischievous child with dirty knees,
beckons forward from the air and sea
the tired, the hungry, the poor.
These she piles before her, and,
with magnifying glass in glaring torch hand,
promptly sets to popping, hissing, snarling, smoky flame.
What cares could she possibly have for their anguish?
For, they are mere ants to her Amazonian figure;
and their screams are indistinguishable from
the squealing steam escaping their exoskeletons.

And the earth?
She is a woman, too;
lying luxuriously on a blanket
in a shady warm field.
Fresh from a picnic,
and perhaps a love-affair,
she sighs as she sprawls, stretches, and, amused,
admires the little creatures which crawl
upon her delicate,
delectable,
electric flesh.
Even though they may carry the slaughtered remains
of their friends, enemies,
ten times the weight of the world on their shoulders,
they charm her,
and she naps
as they trek across the mountains and valleys of her body,
bridge her vast oceans of passionate sweat,
nestle in her many encompassing crevices.
She is their world,
and to some their God,
and she sleeps, half-smiling,
tickled by their warpath,
rolling over haphazardly,
oblivious to the destruction which ensues.

And God?
He, she, it gently mends the strings of her web
and smiles at the life in the palms of his hands.
She rocks gently to soothe what it can.
He pulls life close to watch all
and, with caring furrowed brow,
nods sympathetically
as spiders suck dry ants,
and ants eat decaying spiders.
"I know it hurts right now.
I know.
But this is how I made you-
to be consumed by those whom you once assumed
to be your enemies,
your nourishment,
your prey.
And I promise to you,
if you look deeper,
it gets better.
I swear it gets better.
I know.
I know.
It gets better."


Washington 2011; Photo Massachusetts 2012