RC deWinter
each time i got close to wrapping myself
in my own embrace
a spider
poison sac full of malevolence
descended from its web
to taint what i knew but could not believe
once it appeared
arachnophobia seized me
the embrace was forgotten
the only goal became escape
in the end
losing what i loved most made me whole
death made me strong
the self-examination required
to rebuild myself
scrubbed away all the falsity
all the fear
all the lies woven into history
by that eightlegged echo of worthlessness
enabling me to look it in the face
and laugh
then
for the first time
my arms reached around
and met
as i fell in love with myself
***
RC deWinter’s poetry is anthologized in Uno: A Poetry Anthology (Verian Thomas, 2002), New York City Haiku (NY Times, 2017), Cowboys & Cocktails: Poetry from the True Grit Saloon (Brick Street Poetry, April 2019), Havik (Las Positas College, May 2019), Castabout Literature (Dantoin/Hilgart, June 2019), The Flickering Light (Scars Publications, June 2019), Nature In The Now (Tiny Seed Press, August 2019), in print in 2River View, Down in the Dirt, Genre Urban Arts, Meat For Tea: The Valley Review, Pilcrow & Dagger, Pink Panther Magazine, Scarlet Leaf Review, The New York Times and in numerous online literary journals.