Thvia Shetley Poet Free verse

A Curious Choice

The stone's angle
offers no cover
as she lay 
openly exposed.

Her pedipalp mane, disheveled
by the soft reverberation
of an accidental intruder.

Whose mouth will froth?
Whose stunned lungs will blanch?
Whose limbs will twitch
then stiffen?

Aculeus poised; quavering telson.
What is her decision?

Will you writhe in the throes
of her opaque venom?
Or will she?


Author's commentary:

Scorpions are intriguing creatures.  
Urban legend has it that when they are threatened they will do one of two things:
sting their perceived aggressor, or sting themselves to death.

Thankfully, this is only a myth and my reverent faith in the scorpion remains intact.

But still, the idea led me to wonder why, when facing extreme hardship, 
some people exhibit self-preserving behavior while others opt 
to self-destruct.  

It's fascinating to me that the latter could be considered a viable option.

Heck, even scorpions know better than that....

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William Darnell Sr August 22, 2021 at 9:30 PM Hi, Thvia! Interesting indeed in your poetry here. I, too, had to research some of the terminologies of your word choice. But excellent penning here. Is there a reason you chose to put the commentary underneath the poem and not in the authors' note box? Best of Wishes, William

Reason A. Poteet August 22, 2021 at 5:30 PM Your excellent piece was hard to follow with all the technical terms, but by the third stanza, I was beginning to get the picture. I am wondering, how would changing the order of the last stanza affect the piece? Was there a reason you didn't use "pincers" "stinger" "abdomen" in place of the more specific terminology? (Will she writhe in the throes of her opaque venom? Or will you?) Thanks for sharing this informative piece. Your notes do help clarify some points.

David Smalling September 8, 2010 at 9:55 AM The tension is dramatically caught in the poem ... and technical terms effectively bring to edge the mystery of the unknown. The sweetest writer to read right now. One love, my friend

Susan Palli September 8, 2010 at 2:29 AM Very interesting info. Good write.

Hyle Chu September 8, 2010 at 12:51 AM I didn't know what to expect, but the trauma expressed in the 2nd stanza drew me in good. I finished and had to read it again. This is a great piece. It compelled me to do research on the matter. Scorpions are immune to their own poison and they don't sting themselves. It's a myth. Maybe they're wrong though, I the myth better =(