Snakes and Spiders.

Some people move like snakes

silent in the grass

their smiles curved too sharp

their words dripping a venom

that numbs before it burns.

Others weave like spiders

patient at the edges

their webs strung across places

where a stumble

becomes a sentence.

They do not mind their business

they creep into corners not theirs

they reach for what was never theirs to touch

they fasten their threads

to the roofs of others

and call it home.

But light breaks them

truth snaps the strands

strength steps into their hiding

and they scatter.

They are afraid of us

and they better stay so

for every coil unwinds in the open

every web comes down by hand

and all who slither and spin

will meet the daylight

will be stripped of their shadows

and wear the weight

of their own disgrace.