Andrea Berns
Home is Where the Spider Lives
They say it’s for safety’s sake,
staying home, not even leaving
for bread or hand soap or a kind face.
But home is where the spider lives,
with his sharp fangs dripping viscous venom.
He has infested the house,
spinning his web of lies
until my life is no longer mine.
And he lurks in every corner,
catching each word
that escapes my skittish mouth,
ensuring no slip of tongue or lips
lends to loved ones’ virtual ears.
And at night when he hungers
he coerces me into his gossamer net,
spins me up until I’m cozy and snug—
and cuts his pincers into my flesh,
drinking in all my doubts:
The virus in here is just as
dangerous as the virus out there.
But he knows well I will never leave,
not even when the world wakes up.
—Submitted on 04/25/2020
Andrea Berns received the Roger Rechenmacher Scholarship Award for Creativity from Loras College in Dubuque, Iowa, where she received her BA. She holds an MA in English from Illinois State University.
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