Cultural Section
The Small Spider’s Universe

By Daniel Boone Schirmer

A very tiny spider
Suspends himself
On a very tiny cable
From the tip
Of a small but perfect
Orchid blossom – dark pink pure white –
At the end of a spray
His universe becomes
     A bottle of olive oil
     A box of Cheerios
     A half-filled sugar bowl
  All having their existence
  On a kitchen tabletop
  He doesn’t like it
  Pulls himself up his cable
  To the orchid blossom
  And disappears

Daniel Boone Schirmer is known among Filipino progressives and students as an American professor and writer who devoted most of his years to activism. Harvard-educated, a former professor at Boston University in Massachusetts and a Filipino friend, Schirmer and 60 other concerned Americans and Filipino-Americans founded in 1973 the Friends of the Filipino People (FFP) that joined the anti-Marcos dictatorship struggle. Always critical of U.S. interventionist policies in the Philippines, he recently wrote a critique of Bush's war on terrorism: "The present Bush administration represents the most extensive and heavily armed empire in history...Under the cover of the 'war against terrorism,' Washington carries on its hegemonic policy in the Philippines. With the collaboration of the present Philippine government, it is attempting to reestablish its military domination of that country so as to provide a stepping-stone for U.S. military intervention in Asia and the Middle East."

A Filipino friend, Prof. Roland Simbulan, was kind enough to submit his poem to Bulatlat.com for publication. Schirmer, who is a 6-footer, is now 87.

We want to know what you think of this poem.