Thyenula leighi

“She asks me to kill the spider.
Instead, I get the most
peaceful weapons I can find.

I take a cup and a napkin.
I catch the spider, put it outside
and allow it to walk away.

If I am ever caught in the wrong place
at the wrong time, just being alive
and not bothering anyone,

I hope I am greeted
with the same kind
of mercy.”

Mercy, by Rudy Francisco

Thyenula leighi jumping spider (Family Salticidae) photographed in St. Lucia, iSimangaliso Wetland Park, KwaZulu-Natal, South Africa, November 2018