Spider

I’m watching a spider climb up the side of this fence.
This is fascinating.
It extends each leg, one by one, and pulls itself along.
It’s graceful, smooth – like walking your fingers up the board.
But with a spider. More legs.
For five minutes, I watch it, but it feels like an eternity. Like watching the sand run out of a gigantic hourglass kind of eternity.
When the spider reaches the top of the board, it slips around the edge and stands in the sun.
A bird swoops down and eats it.
For a moment, I stand there, just staring.