Yesterday
The funnel web reared up
Shocked
Assaulted
Thrown from its garden bed
Ready to bury its bite within me.
 
Today
I sit in the train carriage
On a three-seater
Sharing the journey
With my brown paper bag:
Two large glass jars
Nestle against each other:
The lids have air holes.
 
We are off to the hospital.
They, twice spat, spent the night outside
In the cold moist air
Dormant when I collect them in the morning
Or sulking:
We clink down the line.
 
Such huge black bellies
Inspire respect
Living with us
But hidden
Within an old wooden log:
I check their safety.
 
Medical entomology
Beckons their arrival.
Human foraging has invaded their realms.
They are now sciences’ prey
Milked for their venom
Commodifed
Useful
No longer dormant.


​Gar Jones – November 2015

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