A Hair-Raising Tale
One night a host of spiders came
each driven in by freezing rain
they squeezed through every narrow gap
in walls that hear old Deathwatch tap
swarming dark they crawled and crept
while dreamless in her bed she slept
Across the floors like drifts of gloom
they scurried through and found her room
mechanical their rhythmic feet
obeyed some strange hypnotic beat
in waves they scaled the bedclothes there
and nested in her unkempt hair
They wove her tangled tresses tight
skilled with silken structure light
at last she woke quite unaware
of squatters living in her hair
all drowsy in the dawn’s pale hush
and safe from threat of comb or brush
She wore those infiltrators well
as far as anyone might tell
she suffered them with mindless grace
for lack of flies about the place
no pesky buzz or bumbling wing
those spiders preyed on everything
Odd visitors might start with fright
when faced with the unusual sight
of tame arachnids spinning webs
organic strands glued edge to edge
her silver-netted barnet fair
styled sleek and chic with spider care
This management of growth hirsute
had mixed advantages to boot
until a tribe of vampire bats
launched an unprovoked attack
a ghastly tale of blood and gore
as fearsome creatures went to war ...
The bats flew madly — scratched and bit
and she (caught in the thick of it)
screamed and ranted, howled and tore
hair from her scalp ’til red and raw
her skull was totally bereft
no single witch-black tuft was left
Evicted lodgers in retreat
sped off on their four pairs of feet
and fled the scene of carnage where
grim piles of wild uprooted hair
lay scattered — miles of weaving wrecked
to hideously bald effect
*****
She lives in peace now — spider-free
with three fine wigs for company
she wears in turn — they fit so snug
there’s room for neither moth nor bug
all creepy-crawlies shun her den
that’s if they know what’s good for them
Since she has sealed up every crack
and cranny in her rustic shack
a warning on her door makes clear
“No bats or spiders welcome here —
go find some other place to dwell
among the nightmares down in Hell!”
each driven in by freezing rain
they squeezed through every narrow gap
in walls that hear old Deathwatch tap
swarming dark they crawled and crept
while dreamless in her bed she slept
Across the floors like drifts of gloom
they scurried through and found her room
mechanical their rhythmic feet
obeyed some strange hypnotic beat
in waves they scaled the bedclothes there
and nested in her unkempt hair
They wove her tangled tresses tight
skilled with silken structure light
at last she woke quite unaware
of squatters living in her hair
all drowsy in the dawn’s pale hush
and safe from threat of comb or brush
She wore those infiltrators well
as far as anyone might tell
she suffered them with mindless grace
for lack of flies about the place
no pesky buzz or bumbling wing
those spiders preyed on everything
Odd visitors might start with fright
when faced with the unusual sight
of tame arachnids spinning webs
organic strands glued edge to edge
her silver-netted barnet fair
styled sleek and chic with spider care
This management of growth hirsute
had mixed advantages to boot
until a tribe of vampire bats
launched an unprovoked attack
a ghastly tale of blood and gore
as fearsome creatures went to war ...
The bats flew madly — scratched and bit
and she (caught in the thick of it)
screamed and ranted, howled and tore
hair from her scalp ’til red and raw
her skull was totally bereft
no single witch-black tuft was left
Evicted lodgers in retreat
sped off on their four pairs of feet
and fled the scene of carnage where
grim piles of wild uprooted hair
lay scattered — miles of weaving wrecked
to hideously bald effect
*****
She lives in peace now — spider-free
with three fine wigs for company
she wears in turn — they fit so snug
there’s room for neither moth nor bug
all creepy-crawlies shun her den
that’s if they know what’s good for them
Since she has sealed up every crack
and cranny in her rustic shack
a warning on her door makes clear
“No bats or spiders welcome here —
go find some other place to dwell
among the nightmares down in Hell!”
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