Natural History by E.B. White

Sometimes also referred to as The Spider’s Web, this poem was originally written in 1929 as a love letter to the author’s wife, and was later collected in 'Poems and Sketches of E.B. White' in 1981.

The spider, dropping down from twig,
Unfolds a plan of her devising,
A thin premeditated rig
To use in rising.

And all that journey down through space,
In cool descent and loyal hearted,
She spins a ladder to the place
From where she started.

Thus I, gone forth as spiders do
In spider's web a truth discerning,
Attach one silken thread to you
For my returning.