He throws his chance at the night.
The moon is a silver coin,
flipped in a sparkling casino of stars,
spinning through a summer evening
scented with the blushing bouquet
of her smiles.
Her words are draped satin,
wrapping around him,
but he draws away
from the torn fabric she is weaving,
with trembling fingers,
from spider web strands.
© Lisa-Jane La Grange
“Spider Web” is a free verse poem that metaphorically illustrates the relation that can exist between men and women. It speaks of attraction, hesitation, and the fragile threads of emotional expectation. Through imagery and metaphor, “Spider Web” explores the tension between fleeting opportunity and the desire for something more permanent.
Women often tend to seek permanence while men often act in the moment.
The opening line, “He throws his chance at the night,” suggests risk. The man is presented in the poem as someone who treats romance like a gamble rather than a covenant. This idea is strengthened by the image of the moon as “a silver coin” in “a sparkling casino of stars.” The night becomes a place of beauty, chance, and uncertainty.
Love, in this atmosphere, spinning in the air, waiting to land.
The woman is presented through warmth and fragrance with “the blushing bouquet of her smiles” lending the impression of tenderness and emotional richness. Her words become “draped satin,” soft, intimate, and inviting. However, this fabric is also “torn,” suggesting vulnerability, past hurt, or emotional need. The phrase “she is weaving” shows her as trying to form connection.
The man “draws away,” sensing either responsibility, fear, or the loss of freedom. The woman’s “trembling fingers” reveal that her weaving is not manipulative so much as deeply human.
“Spider Web” is intended to capture a classic emotional contrast. The woman reaches for lasting meaning, while the man hesitates before commitment.
