Compassion #27
Spiders in corners
Anthony Nanfito, Haiku Ponderings
Their webs collecting insects
Two helpful roommates
Pondering This Haiku
I used to be extremely fearful of spiders. Well, to be honest, I’m not BFFs with them, but I have been able to expand my compassion toward them. You might say I’m less fearful and more cautious admirer.
In this haiku, I remember observing two spiders—daddy-longlegs spiders or cellar spiders—in the corners of my apartment. I had noticed that in the web they had captured a few flying insects; pests to me but dinner to them.
Overtime, as I saw this again and again, I began to see them more as helpful roommates rather than threats to my well-being. In fact, they were performing a service for me: some of those captured insects were mosquitos.
I know somewhere deep in my brain—cultivated through thousands of years of evolution—my instinct tells me to runaway or stomp on these tiny, eight-legged creatures, but now I do my best to stop, slow down, and appreciate these eight-legged friends.
Like all living things they play a small role in the larger ecosystem of Earth and are a part of the same network of life I inhabit. So as long as they’re not causing me any harm, I permit them to stay in the corners of my apartment.
A Question for You to Ponder
Have you ever changed your opinion about something?
If so, how did it change and what caused it to change?
Share your answer in the comments below.
Book Promo for National Poetry Month:
The featured haiku in this post is from my haiku collection, Haiku Ponderings. This collection features over 100 haiku centered around the themes of Mindfulness, Compassion, Gratitude, Love & Loss, and Give & Forgive.
In celebration of (U.S.) National Poetry Month, my collection is discounted for a promotion price of $0.99 from Fri April 1, 2022 to Sat April 30, 2022 on the following retailers. Follow the link below to download your copy today!
If you’re enjoying this blog series celebrating National Poetry Month and want to read the other posts in the series click here.
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