Natural History

The spider, dropping down from twig

Unwinds a thread of her devising:

A thin, premeditated rig

To use in rising.

And all the journey down through space,

In cool descent, and loyal-hearted,

She builds a ladder to the place

From which she started.

This I, gone forth, as spiders do,

In spider’s web a truth discerning,

Attach one silken strand to you

For my returning.