Art by Jess Nguyen

The koi fish ripple the pond, 

loosening a watery laneway

in the dull hunt for sustenance. 

Their mouths, in perfect Os, 

gape at reflections mistaken for food. 

As it so happens, the spider has

woven its web carefully across

the pond, trusting two rocks

to hold its home mere centimetres 

above the koi-kissed surface. 

Just like us, and ever-precariously, 

the spider lives in this beautiful 

and dangerous world.