On the Shelf
On the kitchen shelf a huntsman spider has left
its skin, which looks so much like itself
I thought twice before touching it. It was still.
The body left and left behind the soul,
feather-light and eight-legged, able to frighten
even when all it wanted was new life.
Perhaps you’ll come upon my own shed skins
in houses where my name has been removed,
the habitations I once thought were home,
or find some words of mine in an old book.
I meant them. The words. Every one of them,
but left them on the shelf to go on living.
by David Mason
from Pacific Light
Red Hen Press, Pasadena, CA, 2022