Black Widow Mourning Poem by Rachael Swiss

there is a hole in my heart where my love hides
and a humble spider sits.
he has woven his web there
taking up residence in the dusty corners and crevices
of my broken home.
i often coat his net with glossy dew-dropp tears
to dampen the wings of butterfly kisses conceived
that never came to rest upon his cheek.
monsieur araignée the leaky roof thatcher,
stolen kiss monger, dying dream catcher,
he keeps my secrets safe from me
in an eight-armed embrace.
his many red and glowing eyes watch the stars,
together they peter out like dying coals to morning.
i wish upon them with my own shining pair
and their lonely suffering of a greater affliction:
the whole of my hole,
my greater affection.