In the Company of Annabel

Annabel walks her eight legged friend On a leash for the sake of safety into town On a cold day born straight from autumn At least the chill will keep them on the narrow The birch tree shares her soul with God Leaves crisping, as of late, now lost of shade Share their demise scurrying off deciduous Around the ground before the snow sets in Covering their merriment for the sake of silence The white spider could easily be misunderstood For purity is surely not a name for killer pets An oddity in nature governed not by love With a red hourglass printed on the back By design or crime, advertising black widow But what is death but another name for heaven They only stop to watch the skeletal remains Of what was once in spring a thing of beauty A birch by any other name is still a tree Annabel spins a silver silken web of lies To passers by who wonder why She tells them it will not bite But if it does we all must die sometime The creature has the situation well in hand Being at the end of her sweet masters tether Should she eat her mate or simply take a bite Surely it would be by mistake or pleasure And with so many legs to walk around Stepping out on the town for fun They must feel comforted in each others company As long as the strap holds out