A Spider Lives in our Mailbox

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A spider lives in our mailbox,
she’s big and hairy and black.
She waved ‘hello’ to the postie
and then he never came back.

A spider lives in our mailbox
who spun a massive egg sac.
We showed it off to our neighbour
and then she never came back.

The babies hatched in our mailbox,
they’re cute and tiny and black.
Then daddy bought a new mailbox;
he won’t take the old one back!

© Kristin Martin 2012

103 thoughts on “A Spider Lives in our Mailbox

    • Hi Erfan,

      I’m glad you think my poem is funny. We really did have spider babies hatch in our mailbox. Would that make you laugh it it happened to you?

      Kristin

  1. Hi Kristin,
    I actually have a phobia of spiders. When I read the story to my mum she told me all these crazy stories about her living up in the hills and her always having spiders everywhere. When my mum was a little girl, she actually had a spider in her bedroom who had babies and their were little spiders everywhere in her room. I really liked how you made the poem rhyme, the description of the events were spot on. Keep writing poems because your really good at it. Good Job!

    • Thanks Lily!

      I’m sorry to hear you have a phobia of spiders. One of my best friends has a spider phobia too. It’s a good thing you don’t have a spider in your bedroom who had babies!

      Thanks for reading my spider poem anyway. It was very brave of you!

      Kristin

  2. Hi Kristin,
    I thought this was a funny and silly poem.It made me think about how lucky I am to not have a spider in my mailbox ever and also, this was the one of the most funniest poems I have ever read so far, and I also liked reading your other poem about spiders.

  3. I really like spiders because they are interesting and cute and i know a lot about spiders. Heres a fact spiders have asthma.
    i choose to read this poem because me and my mum love spiders
    and it seemed funny and silly so i tried it out and i was right. I enjoyed it because it was easy to read i liked the format it was cool.

    • Hi Luke,

      I did not know spiders have asthma! What a cool fact!

      I absolutely love that you and your mum like spiders, and think they are cute. I like spiders too (though not all of them- I don’t like red-backs), and not many people do.

      What is your favourite spider? Mine is a huntsman.

      Kristin

  4. Hi Kristin,
    We sometimes get spiders in our mail box but we mostly get ants !!! I’m not a fan of spiders but my brother (Caleb) really like looking at all types of bugs and animals! Our Mum always tell Caleb not to touch them but he can’t help it !!! Like the other day we found a prying mantis on our window and Caleb wanted to put it on his hand !!! He also asked me it I wanted to go look at it but I said “no” !!! This poems was brilliant!!! I wish I was as brave as you and my brother !!!
    Clara❤️

    • Hi Clara,

      I can understand being scared of spiders, some of them can be dangerous. Most aren’t though, so I just learn to tell them apart. Does Caleb do that?

      Praying mantis are one of my favourite insects! I hardly ever see them these days (I had lots in my backyard when I was a kid), but when I do see one I always pick it up! I hope the praying mantis doesn’t mind.

      Kristin

  5. Hello Kristin!

    I’m not a fan of spiders, but from the comment section I think you are! I know some things about spiders, like how in some species the females are bigger than the males. Those females (I think) also eat the males. Also at school as our ‘Fact of the Day’ I learnt that spider legs have a hydraulic system powered by their blood pressure. So cool! That’s why their legs curl up when they die. (I’ve always wondered about that!) I have a few questions for you. Did the postie never come back when he saw the spider? Same with your neighbour? Did you get a new mailbox? Did you keep the old one? Did any one complain about it? This was a great poem!

    • Hi Twinkle,

      Thanks so much for your comment. I love your spider fact. I didn’t know that. And you are right, I like spiders.

      This poem was inspired by a spider laying eggs in our mailbox, but we didn’t actually get a new mailbox. I carefully moved the baby spiders out so our neighbour wouldn’t be too scared to check our mail while we were away on holiday.

      Kristin

  6. Hi Kristin
    I am terrified of spiders but This poem was still good though and I liked how this poem had a consistent rhythm.Do you like spiders?

  7. Hi Kristin
    I liked this poem, but it kind of freaked me out. Honestly, I am terrified of spiders. Do you like spiders? Also, did this actually happen to you or anyone you knew?
    Tharusha

  8. Hi Kristin
    I liked the part where the dad got a new mail box and didn’t want the old one back. I would be the same If I had a spider in my mail box.

  9. Hi Kristin
    Most spiders are interesting, but red backs are ferocious.
    My favourite spider is the Sydney funnel web spider!
    I read this poem because I love animals, insects and arachnids!
    I liked when you wrote about the dad buying the new mailbox and he won’t be bringing the old mailbox back!!!

    P.S. What’s your favourite spider?

    P.P.S. I also wrote a poem about learning today! Tell me what you think about it. Here it is –

    LEARNING
    My favourite subject is Sport
    And Math is so meh!
    But keeping in mind,
    I know math is everywhere.
    With all the angles to know
    and every point to score,
    I love math now,
    it’s not so much a bore anymore!!!!

    by Caleb

    • Hi Caleb,

      Thank you so much for your comment and your poem. I loved it! I love maths. Did you know that there is maths in rhyming poetry?

      I also love spiders. My favourite is huntsmans. Sydney funnel webs scare me a little bit, but maybe because I have never seen them. Have you seen one? Why do you like them?

      Did you read my other spider poem, ‘A Spot’ ? I also have two poems about spiders in my poetry book.

      Keep writing poems!

      Kristin

  10. Hi kristin i only like daddy long legs because i get scared o,ve the other spiders but all spider are beautifull in there on way right

  11. Hi Kristin
    I liked how you said that everyone who saw the spider would never come back to their house. In my opinion I think that’s just animal cruelty because “don’t judge a book by it’s cover”.

  12. Was that spider a tarantula? I`m scared of spiders, so is my mum. The poem was funny and creepy. I would be scared to check
    the letterbox if that happened.

    • Hi Archie,

      No, it wasn’t a tarantula. It was a huntsman. I like them, although I don’t ever pick them up! I understand why people think they’re creepy though.

      We have another huntsman in our mailbox now. She seems to like living there.

      Kristin

      • Cool, I kind of freak out when I see them.
        Once I saw one in the bathroom and got creeped out. And I once saw a huntsman
        outside and it ran up the wall .It was huge.
        My mum made a video of it.

  13. Hi Kristin,
    I really liked your poem because it reminded me of our mailbox which has lots of spiders but it got cleaned out a few days ago and now they`re all gone.

    • Hi Ebony,

      Thanks for your comment. I’m glad you like my poem.

      Spiders seem to like mailboxes. I noticed I have another one living in mine.

      Kristin

  14. That’s a funny poem Kristin it reminds me of my mum she doesnt like spiders at all and she wouldn’t go get the mail if there was a spider in our mailbox we would probably move

    • Hi Hollie,

      Thanks for your comment. I think a lot of people are like your mum! I actually like spiders, but I had to move the spider and her babies out of our mailbox when we went on holiday, because otherwise our neighbour wouldn’t collect our mail for us. That’s what inspired me to write this poem.

      Kristin

  15. Hi Kristin
    My Dad and I read ‘A Spider Lives in our Mailbox’ I chose this poem because I like spiders. Your spider waving ‘hello’ made my Dad and I laugh. I like the rhyming in the poem all the way through. It reminded me of when I saw a Red back in the pipe out the back yard.

    • Hi Haydn,

      Thanks for your comment. I’m glad you and your dad both laughed. I really did have a huntsman spider in my mailbox. I like huntsmans, but I don’t like redback spiders! We found 3 in a pipe in our back yard. Maybe I should write a poem about that!

      Kristin

  16. Hello
    Mum and I read this poem because we had a real spider in our mailbox. It didn’t have any babies and we didn’t buy a new mailbox. I liked the rhyming words in this poem.

  17. Hi Kristin

    I really liked your poem. The funny thing is that we also had a Huntsman living in our mailbox and had spun web not sure if it had laid any eggs because as soon as we noticed it mum was quick to get the poison spray and and use half of it to kill the spider hahahahahahaha as you can see my mum is very afraid of spiders.
    I thought the poem was very funny and i really enjoyed it.

    • Hi Tehya,

      Thanks for your lovely comment. Although I was a bit sad to hear that your mum killed the huntsman spider. They are my favourite spider.

      Kristin

  18. Dear Kristin
    I really like your poem about spiders and how so many people were sacred of her because well she was a spider. From this poem I understood how so many humans are scared of tiny living beings that are more scared of us than we are of them.
    Loved the poem
    Yenuli

  19. Dear Kristin,

    I chose this poem because the title sounds funny.
    I think it’s funny because spiders cannot talk and wave. My favourite bit was ‘they never came back’ because it was hilarious to read about the scaredy cats. But you know what? I’m eight and I am a BIG scaredy cat myself.

    Thank you for the poem and I enjoyed reading it.

    From Lucas

    • Hi Lucas,

      Thank you for your comment. It is quite sensible to be scared of things that are dangerous, and some spiders, like red backs, are dangerous. Huntsmen spiders aren’t through. But my neighbour really was scared of the huntsman spider in our mailbox.

      Kristin

  20. I have read all of your silly poems but I think this one is my favourite poem. The reason is because I really like spiders and I think this is a really funny and smart poem!

    Emmy Eliza Manning :):):)

    • Hi!

      Thanks for your comment! I’m sorry I didn’t reply sooner, but I didn’t know it was there (I didn’t get a notification from the website- oops!).

      I’m so glad to hear that you like my silly poems. I’m also really glad to hear that you like spiders too. So many people don’t like them, but I think they are great!

      Kristin

  21. I am terrified of spiders and I don’t want to be reaching into mailboxes anytime soon as there may be a spider in there. This poem was quite good though and I liked how this poem had a consistent rhythm.

    • Hi Chomilka,

      Thank you for your thoughtful comment. I’m glad you noticed my poem has a consistent rhythm. I worked hard to make it that way.

      Did you know that daddy long legged spiders can’t hurt people? They are nice spiders, as they eat flies and mosquitos too. Some spiders aren’t so nice.

      Kristin

  22. I am absolutely terrified with spiders and just the way you described them gave me shivers. From now on, I am always going to check if there are spiders in the mailbox before I collect the mail.

    • Hi Chomilka,

      I’m sorry that my poem has made you more scared. I have never, ever been bitten by a huntsman spider- that’s what the spider is called. It is a good idea not to touch spiders, though- except for daddy long leg spiders; they can’t hurt you.

      Kristin

  23. Hi Kristin,

    this poem reminded me of when I was in my room studying I just looked up and I saw an giant hairy spider. So I started to screeeeeeeeeeeeeam. I told My sister and mother what happened and they said that I was screaming because there was a snake

    Tirath

    • Hi Paige,

      Thanks for your comment. I agree, the dad in the poem was kind. We are kind to spiders in my family, because spiders eat horrible flies and mosquitos.

      Kristin

  24. Hi Methuli,

    I’m not scared of spiders, but my neighbour is! He wouldn’t check my mail for me when I went away for a week because of the spider that lived there!

    Kristin

    • Hi Harry,

      I think the dad would be annoyed, though the poem is fiction. I have had a spider in my mailbox, and she did have babies there, but I didn’t mind.

      Kristin

  25. Sorry I’m late coming to this conversation Kristin, but I’d like to know about how Dad makes the new mailbox a spider-free zone, and whether he is successful at it …

    Cheers, and thanks for your fantastic workshop this morning, you were great!

    • Poor Dad, it didn’t work. The spiders moved into the new mailbox pretty quickly!

      I really enjoyed presenting the workshop on writing and publishing children’s poetry. I’m happy to do more workshops.

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