pity the poor spiders
i have just been reading
an advertisement of a certain
roach exterminator
the human race little knows
all the sadness it
causes in the insect world
i remember some weeks ago
meeting a middle aged spider
she was weeping
what is the trouble i asked
her it is these cursed
fly swatters she replied
they kill of all the flies
and my family and i are starving
to death it struck me as
so pathetic that i made
a little song about it
as follows to wit
twas an elderly mother spider
grown gaunt and fierce and gray
with her little ones crouched beside her
who wept as she sang this lay
curses on these here swatters
what kills off all the flies
for me and my little daughters
unless we eats we dies
swattin and swattin and swattin
tis little else you hear
and we ll soon be dead and forgotten
with the cost of living so dear
my husband he up and left me
lured off by a centipede
and he says as he bereft me
tis wrong but i ll get a feed
and me a working and working
scouring the streets for food
faithful and never shirking
doing the best i could
curses on these here swatters
what kills off all the flies
me and my poor little daughters
unless we eats we dies
only a withered spider
feeble and worn and old
and this is what
you do when you swat
you swatters cruel and cold
i will admit that some
of the insects do not lead
noble lives but is every
man s hand to be against them
yours for less justice
and more charity
archy
Commentary
We’ve not had one of these in a while…
with a charming accompanying illustration at http://www.sfo.com/~batt/archy/poem4.html
Marquis is a poet of whom I never tire - his Archy and Mehitabel poems, in particular, are some of the most delightful pieces of poetry I have encountered. As usual, I recommend going through the previous Archy poems in the archive first, or at least the first one, for context.
Today’s poem adds an extra twist - Archy is moved to break into song, with results that are nothing short of hilarious. I laughed out loud several times at the sheer audacity of the verse, and the deadly accuracy with which he pinpoints the tone of voice.
The other striking thing about the poem is how smoothly and naturally Marquis has introduced a second ‘voice’ for Archy; we, the readers, have no problem believing that the (fictional) author of the song and the monologues are one and the same, and that it is Archy writing in the voice of the spider rather than Marquis doing so. And Marquis not only carries it off, he does so with consummate ease.
— Martin
Links
Go the the archive at The Wondering Minstrels and sort on Poet name; there have been several of Marquis’ poems run in the past.
In particular, see poem #36 for background info and context.