What is ‘Ten Legs, Eight Broken’ on TikTok? Why a spider poem is bringing users to tears

A touching poem is going viral on TikTok with the title ‘Ten Legs, Eight Broken’ — but some users are warning viewers not to read it. Here’s why this poem about a spider is bringing people to tears.

TikTok is known for kicking off the next viral trend or fad. From causing clothes to sell out in stores to spawning catchy dances for popular songs, TikTok is the number one place to be if you want your content to really take off.

We can look to the comical ‘Grimace Shake’ trend as a more recent example of this phenomenon… but the latest craze taking over the platform is decidedly less humorous.

If you’ve been scrolling through your For You Page recently, you may have come across a spoken-word poem on TikTok titled, ‘Ten Legs, Eight Broken.’

What is the ‘Ten Legs, Eight Broken’ spider poem on TikTok?

The poem, originally from a video published by TikToker Harrison Emmonds, details a conversation between a human and a spider.

In the poem, the human has killed the spider, and complains that the arachnid trespassed into their home and “decorated my walls with unwanted silk webs without my asking.”

The spider, on the other hand, is mournful and apologetic as it lay dying. “I’m sorry for scaring you, but I didn’t know being seen would cost me my life.”

The heartfelt poem has left users across TikTok feeling pretty bad about killing insects in their home — and has even brought some to tears. In fact, a hashtag for the poem has accrued over 9 million views and counting.

One video has even urged viewers not to read the poem, lest they get a little too emotionally invested in the fictional spider’s plight and feel guilty about getting rid of bugs in their house.

The clip reposting the poem has garnered over a million views, captioned, “DO NOT READ TEN LEGS EIGHT BROKEN. JUST SKIP IF IT GOES ON YOUR FYP.”

However, other users aren’t convinced by the spider’s empathetic appeal to humankind, with quite a few commenting that their “flip-flop will keep flip-flopping” the little critters into oblivion.

This is just the latest video to take TikTok by storm after a DoorDasher threw a customer’s food on the ground after they didn’t tip.