Fear: 2020 Poetry RUNNER-UP

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WORDS BY ANNIEPREET TUTEJA.

You catch me by surprise

each time you spin that

delicately woven cobweb

of yours, an intricate trap,

ensnaring me, holding me

hostage for the night.

Your eight furry legs dance,

creepily crawling

in synchronised

rhythm, rejoicing

at my plight.

Heightened breathing, 

surging adrenaline

excites you and hissing,

baring fangs seduce me to trauma.

You scuttle away, 

attempting to flee

but you can’t escape me

I stomp on you, stomp on you,

stomp on you.

I wonder have you

actually left?

Because that web is immaculate

as ever and your descendants

lay out of sight, 

comfortable in

their nest.

ARTIST STATEMENT

In this poem the extended metaphor of a spider represents the fear faced by an individual and the spider’s web and offspring reinforce its grasp and lingering effects. A first-person perspective is used to directly address the individual’s fears. These fears are connected to the representation of a spider which we commonly associate with anxiety and discomfort. The metaphor, ‘Each time you spin that delicately woven cobweb of yours’ uses a cobweb to connect the home of a spider to the dawn of fear. Likewise, the trapping sensation of fear is conveyed through diction like ‘ensnaring’ and ‘holding me hostage’ to create images of suffocation, evoking a dark and sinister mood.

Furthermore, the statement, ‘Rejoicing at my plight’ depicts the monstrous and merciless trait of fear. The rhetorical question ‘I wonder have you actually left?’ has the narrator reflect on whether they have gotten rid of their fears. However, the remaining cobweb and spider eggs suggest that the narrator has not managed to let go of their fear. This is reiterated by ‘Out of sight, silent, comfortable,’ revealing that fear is at the back of the individual’s mind which creates a sense of uncertainty in the audience.

EDITORIAL NOTE: This article has been reuploaded and was originally published in 2020.