Arachne

By Amanda Jernigan

Athena, taking as her theme
‘gods giveth’—classic—must assume
she’ll handily defeat the girl
who, weaving fine concentric circles,
will not live to tell the tale
of the one who will not live to tell
the tale of the one who will not live
to tell the tale of the gods who, given,
taketh and taketh and taketh and taketh
away.

AMANDA JERNIGAN's latest book is All the Daylight Hours (2013). Her work has appeared in Poetry and other magazines.