Hermit's Admonition

Leave me curled within this shadowed den,
A brown recluse, suspended on tangled web.
Be thankful I choose my own company,
Lurking below the floorboards of life.

Beware these slender fangs of mine.
This sensual bite brings toxic torment,
Destroying all that dares caress
This wandering, vulnerable shell.

Pity me not, I was born this way,
Made to stalk the eternal gloom.
Hunting morsels in dead of night,
When the house has fallen silent.

Even when I climb to the ceiling,
Admiring the majesty of my view,
I am always trapped on this surface
Clinging to everything that I touch.

Don't follow me into the darkness,
Forget you saw me scurry past.
This elegant violin will play a dirge
To anyone seeking my embrace.