Ode to Arachne by Ziggy Dicks

Ode to Arachne

Lustrous black hangs over pale skin
Gleaming green under deities sight
Wheeling toes transfer lanolin
Watchers skill shadows this neophyte
Who’s damning dexterity draws in
The old woman watching weaving
Whispering advice to halt spokes
But fibrous boasts offend mountain
War horns sound an electric warning
Arachne’s eyes roll with faster strokes

Athena whets sharp javelin
Circling pressure spills lymphocyte
An emerald eyed grimalkin
Issuing challenge instead of a fight
To save face in front of kin
Anxiously she begins fabricating
Charring wood, wisping smoke
Arachne remembers old sin
Clean fingers start recording
Twenty one episodes to provoke

Woven lust impregnates linen
Details capture birthright
Divine lashes flicker, flecking venin
Mortal legs levitate, threads snap and choke
Defiant victory from the coffin
Punished and reborn with aconite
To appease her guilt for relaxed reign
Arachne is transformed and hanging
Always spinning; a masterstroke

Zack (Ziggy) Dicks has been writing poetry for over 20 years but It was only as an adult that his work truly developed. In his twenties he would write a poem a day, this continued for several years, and he is still a prolific writer to this day. He saw creative writing as an outlet that was easily accessible as it only needed a pen and paper. He found it could be used to entertain those around him and this has led Zack to have some interesting adventures. Zack has lived in Gloucester all his life but credits his travels beyond as a point that encouraged maturity which dramatically altered his poetry as a result. Zack first started performing in public officially in 2016 but has subsequently gone on to establish extensive links internationally. He founded the Gloucester Poetry Society and the Gloucester Poetry Festival soon after and hasn’t stopped since. He states his main influences are Ted Hughes, H P Lovecraft and Edgar Allan Poe but, also, said in truth there are too many poets to mention. He states his vision for the Gloucester Poetry Society and the Gloucester Festival is to share creative writing, poetry and spoken word art with the world or as he says in his own words “Poetry is for everyone as life is poetry.”

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