I typically gravitate toward writing essays these days but refrained from writing them. You can only sit in one position for so long in solitary that your mind starts to play tricks on you. I did not know all this time I was like a sedentary spider that weaves her words at the corner of the web. Don’t worry, unlike Charlotte the spider in the book, I am not bloodthirsty. I don’t eat my prey. And unlike her, I don’t get enough fresh air, which is something I hope to change. To resolve this problem, I attempted to step outside from time to time. Say hello to the trees and the squirrels. Once I feel recharged, I sink into my thoughts again, allowing creativity to flourish new lines. And that was what inspired me to write a poem instead of a formal review for this blog. I took the lessons learned from the book quite serious: The quote, “Never hurry and never worry…Keep fit, and don’t lose your nerve (p.64)” stuck in my head for weeks. Miraculously, it lifted the invisible chains that thwarted my creative progress into thin air. I feel lighter because I am most happiest when I am in Creative Mode. I hope you enjoy the poem.

The Sedentary Spider

Collect your thoughts from yesterday

to lock it away

because yesterday was very much like today

and I hope it will always stay

The poem is a reflection of my elementary school days, which I considered to be one of the happiest and carefree times of my life. Our teacher gave us an assignment that involved drawing an insect. I drew a picture of a spider I found from flipping through the pages of the animal encyclopedia. My drawing was so good that my classmates asked me to draw a spider for them. All I did was imitate the drawing in the book. I gave it hairy, brown legs and menacing dark slit eyes. Feeling elated by my natural-born talent, I agreed because I was impressed with myself too. It was my first time drawing a spider, and because of my effort, we all got A+ for our assignments. What more can a little girl ask for in life when she is appreciated and liked by her peers? Life is much easier when we all get along. Of course, adult life is more complicated, and perhaps that is why I tend to retreat back to elementary days. Sometimes I like to keep things simple.

If there is one important lesson, I learned from this great book is to always give thanks and credit to those who work behind the scenes. After all, no one suspected it was a spider that wrote “Some Pig” on the web. Yes, Wilbur became the famous pig, but it’s Charlotte’s miraculous work that saved his life. Like many readers, I was touched. It’s a great book about true friendship and about finding innovate ways to help a friend from becoming someone’s crunchy food (p.98)!