A Web of Stories

By Sunavya Kaur Pahwa

Sitting in a dark cave, I weave a web, 

Made of tragedy, laughter, love, hatred and not only thread... 

In my veins flows an emotion, a feeling, 

Resentment at its peak, with a reason, a meaning... 

I had challenged a Goddess and clearly won! 

But of course, like any other time, it was I, the mortal, to be shun... 

In a weaving contest, I had been entangled,

With Goddess Athena, who even after losing had me strangled... 

We weaved and weaved and weaved,

My tapestry unfolded a scene; the Gods misleading us mortals interleaved... 

Athena's was a tapestry of time, mortals comparing themselves with Gods, 

Every dying mortal redeemed the Gods of being the best without any odds... 

But I objected! I refused to bow, 

To disrespect myself and my art, I would not allow... 

Athena and I showed our tapestries to the women and men, 

And as expected, they agreed with the Goddess again... 

Yet, I still objected, showing how much better I was, 

But the angered goddess would not budge, ignoring my cause... 

Provoked and irritated, the Goddess cursed me, 

"Now, you will weave for your entire life, without stopping, I guarantee..."

Those were the words of the Goddess before she turned me into a spider, 

And now, as the people gasped and ran, in my own town I became an outsider... 

Instead of two arms and two legs, I have eight of them, 

To hold up my enormous body, which has been condemned... 

Now I sit in caves, weaving tapestries and webs, 

My children and I make our homes, with the unending threads...

By Sunavya Kaur Pahwa