Word-Bird presents...
Memento Maratus volans
by Fliss
He can’t resist. He has to take this route,
the scented silken trail that she has spun
for sweet seduction. Intellect is moot.
His eight legs start a trot and then a run
beside the trembling thread, between the trees
that thicken through the forest. Passers-by
he ought to fear loom large; he neither sees
nor hears their threatening presence. That’s the high
of his excitement, all the bulbous buzz,
the one-track wonder. Other smells are nought,
including this, a ball of entrails, fuzz,
a suitor down, disintegrating, caught
then corpsed. A sad inadequate for her
and – pounce! – she’s here; he swerves the first attack
but soon she springs again, again. There’s fur
against his own. It’s warm. He bristles back
and raises, from his abdomen, a fan
of red and blue and black. He shimmies, shakes,
and lifts his strong third legs, a jaunty can-
can, claps and flaps, then flaps and claps, and makes
her pause a moment, cease the courting test –
has he succeeded? Stealthily he creeps
towards her, fan retracted to a vest.
She’s still. He edges nearer, stops and peeps
with all eight eyes. He raises limbs again,
and stands before her, quivering, at last,
awaiting her permission. Does she deign
to choose him, from so many? He’s aghast.
She does – and afterwards, away he skips,
and she, one might suppose, just rests awhile;
but no. A final pounce. And fangs. Lymph drips
and pools. He dies. She feasts. She seems to smile.
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W.-B.’s notes: “I am pleased to present this poem as Somethin’ Spooky this month! It was first published in The HyperTexts, October 2025. We are grateful to Editor Michael R. Burch, as always.“
Fliss
We are indeed, W.-B., and grateful also to our wild friend William, who kindly sent us a link to the YouTube clip that inspired the poem! That link is here. I’m fascinated by the natural world and always glad to take a closer look at any of its life-forms, past and present, from small spiders to massive mammoths! There’s still so much to learn.
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Bio: Two collections of poems previously published in journals including The HyperTexts, Snakeskin, The Ekphrastic Review, Lighten Up Online, The Dirigible Balloon, Pulsebeat Poetry Journal, Amethyst Review; also published in Light and New Verse Review. The second collection is ex-Kelsay Books (contract terminated due to worsening illness). Third collection pending, available for free online.
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We end this month’s issue by, once again, thanking all our contributors and all our readers for continuing to enjoy WM. All being well, we’ll be back on 1st November. Until then, keep it spooky! Woooo-hoooo!
Best wishes,
Fliss and the tiny team 🎶
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