176. SPRAUCHLE-ING

176.

SPRAUCHLE-ING

Out of the corner of my eye 

I see a black spot. Frankly, 

it's more of a speck.
It moves quite suddenly,

so I give it my full attention,

(meaning I look with both eyes).

I see that it’s a spider,

one of my least favorite varieties.

We call it a Jumper, because 

that’s what they do if you attempt

to stop (kill) them. They jump.

Out of the way. I’ve also seen

them leap to escape. I assume

they bite because they always look 

mean. It could be my imagination

but I’ve had several of them 

actually growl at me.

I see the spider power jumping 

from one side of my study

to the other, back & forth, again and again.

Lost in bucolic poem writing, I finally

look up to observe the whereabouts 

of Jumper. To my dismay, he’s

no longer jumping, or even walking.

This time, it seems to be more 

of a trudge-limp, from one side of the room

and back to start. Have you ever

seen a spider trudge, and then limp. 

Then shamble, shuffle, sprauchle, stumble.

It's very sad; he seems to have lost his will to live.

I bet he injured himself on his last jump.

*comments welcome

"Sprauchle" is a Scottish and Northern Irish word. 

It means to scramble, clamber clumsily or sprawl.