Hannan Khan
Waltz of Genesis & Armageddon ………………….Language Warning
peacock spider rears —
an emperor draped in dazzled fire
iridescent banners of galaxies caving in & blooming at once
vitality incinerating as death; death scintillating as vitality
a foil penned upon trembling silk; a creature feathered in geometry
each sashay is a glyph & each glyph a tandem of door & grave
his waltz is genesis & armageddon; creation sutured to erasure in a solo shimmer
he intuits he must seduce or be devoured for amour —
here is worship & execution
mercy interlaced with annihilation
his jeweled eyes fracture the laws of air —
sole beat decrees drought, another hails flood
lone flicker births stars, another devours them
he’s twain of magician & victim;
king & sacrifice; sculpted of flesh & color
she’s sovereign judge, loiters —
unblinking, monumental in voracity
her stillness is louder than tempest’s cry
fucking web is verdict; fucking web is universe
equidistant strands strained until they shudder with destiny
he reprises, he reprises, he reprises —
yet every goddamn echo unmakes the last
he cavorts for survival, survives for dancing
a monadic gesture yoking life & quietus
promise & ruin equilibrated on an unum’s fluttering fan
i dance to survive, i survive to dance; i bide to vanish, i vanish to bide
he leaps through gravity’s seams
snaking time into threads of ink & vacuity
her eyes, a thousand judgements, ingurgitate him —
clemency that is murder; acceptance that is exile
gossamer convulses, not lattice but cosmos stretched svelte
he unfurls his ultimate fan — void plumed, absence radiant
her volition lands — both crown & coffin; embrace & liquidation
what endures is a coruscation in the air, not a spider, not a paramour, not a god
the trace of desire slanting into solemn silence
a wormhole of pining forever opening, forever shutting
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Hannan Khan — a nefelibata, poet, fiction writer, editor, and scholar of literature & linguistics from Pakistan. He combs through moments of love, death, delirium, and relational complexities, seraphically tracing what’s breathed and what flickers unbreathed. He is the winner of the Native Voices Award 2025 for his poetry collection Isn’t Cooked Is Cursed, and a finalist for the Rhysling Award 2026. He is longlisted for the erbacce-prize for Poetry 2026. He sips coffee & reads Manto. His work has appeared in IHRAM Literary Magazine, Fahmidan Journal, Evergreen Review, Eye To The Telescope, Twenty-two Twenty-eight, Abyss & Apex, Neon & Smoke, Winds Of Asia, 4LPH4NUM3R1C, Uncanny Magazine, Usawa Literary Review, Native Voices II: The Cry of Creation, Full Bleed, Ghudsavar, Workers Write!, and is forthcoming in Gutter Magazine, Southern Humanities Review, and Cahava Literary Journal. Instagram: @hannan.khan.official
Author’s Backstory/Crafting Elements: As far as I remember, it was about a year ago when I became deeply interested in zoopoetics. I began exploring how animal lives and behaviors could become the center of poems rather than merely serving as metaphors for human experience. During that period, I came across numerous videos and photos of peacock spiders performing their courtship dances. Intensity of the display fascinated me and made me wonder how such a tiny creature could invest everything in a brief act of attraction, knowing that failure carried real consequences. That image stayed with me for some time, which gave rise to “Waltz of Genesis & Armageddon,” one of several poems born from that period of curiosity. It remains one of my favorite pieces to emerge from that fascination and exploration.
Editor’s Comments/Image Credit: From a Google search: Several theological and literary works explore the connection between the beginning (Genesis) and the end (Armageddon) of human history. Because Genesis establishes the perfect creation and the entry of sin, while Armageddon marks the final eradication of evil, many eschatological works discuss them as the two necessary bookends of the biblical narrative.
The most notable works and concepts that connect these themes include: The Bible: The ultimate foundational text. Genesis introduces the Tree of Life, humanity’s fall in Eden, and the initial prophecy of evil’s defeat (the protoevangelium in Genesis 3:15). The Book of Revelation details the fulfillment of this prophecy, culminating in the Battle of Armageddon and the restoration of a paradise resembling Eden.
Systematic Theologies: Works like Systematic Theology by Wayne Grudem or The Great Controversy by Ellen G. White trace the overarching meta-narrative. They draw direct parallels between the deceptive introduction of sin by the serpent in Genesis and the final cosmic conflict involving spiritual deception before Armageddon.
Theology & Cultural Analyses: Books like The Unseen Realm by Dr. Michael S. Heiser and Genesis to Armageddon and Beyond by Vernon J. Wiebe directly tie the supernatural worldview of the Old Testament to the apocalyptic imagery of the New Testament.
Literary & Cultural Retellings: Good Omens by Neil Gaiman and Terry Pratchett is a famous satirical novel that uses the Garden of Eden from Genesis and the looming Battle of Armageddon to weave a story about free will and prophecy.
The image is a reduced-resolution photograph (but still truly exceptional image) of a jumping spider, in particular, the male Maratus volans, a peacock spider. It is reprinted here through the generous donation of its original author, Jürgen Otto via a Creative Commons license (CC-BY-SA 2.0)