How Silk is Made

#150337608 / gettyimages.com

Inside the silk dome
the moth is safe.
It sleeps.
It grows.
In order to prevent damage
to the silk fibers,
it is necessary
to boil the cocoon
before the adult emerges.
This process
kills the moth
and helps the cocoon
unravel.
That way
the quality
of the final product
is preserved.

2014 November PAD Challenge, Day 13.

It Lives

#450009329 / gettyimages.com

At the bottom of the well
something lives.
There are noises,
especially at night,
and occasionally
the chain rattles
and the bucket shakes.
No need to panic.
I am sure everybody's safe
as long as the weather's dry.
The only thing to fear
are the rains.

2014 November PAD challenge, Day 12.

The Termites

#125926862 / gettyimages.com

I blame it on the termites.
I can hear them rustling at night.
In the morning I can’t find my stuff.
My thoughts, so coherent the evening before,
lose all structure.
Things I scribbled in my notebook
during those dark hours
turn to gibberish.
Some letters are missing
and I can’t read
my handwriting.

2014 November PAD Challenge, Day 11

Am I in Trouble Now?

#454027327 / gettyimages.com

I am beginning to grow a tail.
It hurts.
When I touch that place, I can feel
the stub, getting bigger and bigger.
My arms are changing too.
I try to convince myself that
those are wings,
but I know I am hoping in vain.
My claws are sharp already.
My hind legs will hold me no more.
The pain is so strong.
Soon it will all be over
and I will finally know
who I am.

2014 November PAD Challenge, Day 10.

In the News

Photo Credit: Property#1 via Compfight cc



A gray wolf spotted in Grand Canyon
for the first time
in decades.
Possessed by a parasite,
the orb spider builds a strange web,
unlike anything it has built before.
It dies inside the web,
when the eggs hatch
and the enemy is born.
The birds in the yard
may look very different
by 2075.
What is your dog
trying to tell you?

Day 9 of the 2014 November PAD Challenge.

The Olm

"P anguinus-head1" by Arne Hodalič - Author's own work. Uploaded with permission.. Licensed under CC BY-SA 3.0 via Wikimedia Commons.

You have probably
never heard of me.
Some call me
the human fish,
but I am not one of you.
My ancestors are dragons
and my cousins salamanders.
I am different from both.
I live in a cave
and there is no fire
in caves.
I have no use for eyes.
I live in a dark place,
but I am never lonely.
My people are with me.
Some say
we are baby dragons
hiding in the darkness,
waiting for our time to come.
Then our sight will be restored
and we will walk the Earth
again.

2014 November PAD Challenge, Day 8. More about the olm here.

Lab Rats

#455466765 / gettyimages.com

Addiction is a human disease.
Why experiment with animals?
Only people normally have sufficient access to drugs.
Strict ethical guidelines to minimize animals' discomfort,
to answer questions.
Craving a substance
in controlled settings.
How strongly does the substance motivate continued use?
Will they undergo a withdrawal syndrome?
The pace of the lever-pressing,
liquid ecstasy.
Tremors, loss of appetite, and agitation.
Will they push a lever to obtain more?


Day 7 of the 2014 November PAD Challenge. This is a found poem. The article I used is here.