animus/anima

Shauna Osborn

 

 

the delicate silver

of spider's silk:

            liquid proteins

            pushed through

            spinnerets for:

                         residence

                         voyage

                         suspension

                         defense

                         capture

                         consumption

                                     all from simple

                                     gossamer thread

                                     created by hundreds of

                                     complementing glands

                                                 singular thread strands

                                                 set adrift or

                                                 woven in intricate patterns

                                                 utility the function--

                                                             the way Matisse

                                                             compared a painting

                                                             to an armchair--

                                                                                     to create

                                                                                     frantic &

                                                                                     ferocious webs

                                                                                                 minimal &

                                                                                                 streamline structures:

                                                                                                              the arachnid

                                                                                                              verve of art

                                                                                                              & acrobatics

 

 

~~~~~

Shauna Osborn is a Comanche/German mestiza who works as an instructor, wordsmith, and community organizer in Albuquerque, New Mexico. She received her Master of Fine Arts from New Mexico State University in 2005. Recently, she received a National Poetry Award from the New York Public Library and the Native Writer Award from Taos Summer Writers’ Conference.