Thanksgiving for Two

She unrolls the bundled tablecloth

Sweeps it flat with her dainty hands

We are having thanksgiving for two

It numbs the pain

Which is ever present

Decades of bad luck

Skin wrinkled and sore

Scars and broken limbs

I put the potatoes in the oven 

Alice lays the plates

It will be just like a feast

In a storybook

She squeals with delight 

I bluff with myself

Should I take the wine or not

There is nothing better than tea

She says

As if she can read my mind 

I would like to remember today

So maybe I will stay sober

It just helps ease the suffering

Or maybe it makes it worse 

It is hard to tell these days

It is like feeling perpetually sick 

The potatoes fill the room

With an earthy scent

Our tummies grumble 

We sit and wait expectantly for

Our thanksgiving for two. 

I Didn't Think I Could Do It

Break a leg

She chuckles

I didn't think I could do it

But skip trip

Trippety-trip I fell down the stairs

And snap 

Now here I am sat

In the basement 

Looking at the filament light 

It is not ferociously bright

But I can still see her

I wonder how long it will be

Until we are found

Forever 

She whispers 

There are spent bullets

Beneath the doorway

They are no longer burning 

Or bright 

Perhaps we could crawl 

Under the ground

Find the electric current 

And soar

I do not remember what we took

Before the fall

But I know it does not hurt 

There are many things 

I didn't think I could do

Perhaps I should remember 

What I can

Not what I can't 

A dime a dozen 

An arm and a leg

We can do it all. 

Moving to Santa Fe

I think we should move to Santa Fe

I say

To be near our beautiful artist friend

We will place our bed on a mesa

Wrap up in blankets 

Against the desert nights

Say farewell to father

And his books and lessons 

We will never forget 

How he strangled us 

When we were seven

So far away

But near

A shadow

And a heart beat 

Can we make mud pies

She asks

Only if there is rain

I say

Not really knowing what the desert is like

We did not learn about other countries

In school

I liked physics

Seeing how things worked 

The colour of wires

The sparks of electricity 

If only we could go back

Learn it all again

But for now

We move froward

On to meet our artist friend.

Let There Be

Shall we take tea

Asks Alice

I would like sweet corn

And powder puff cakes

Our little ceremony

A time to heal old wounds

Our voices will be full

Our laughter will sweep 

Over the mountains 

We will sing a song

Rubbing our full tummies 

Summer will be nothing more 

Than a mirage 

Pollen will dance on the breeze

But we will be safe in our dwelling 

She claps her hands in glee 

How I do love her

The comfort of the tea pot

The tiny china cups

The piping hot tea

Brewed to perfection

After all these years

And Hatter and Dormouse 

Of course

Let there be endless summers

And endless tea parties

She declares

And we sip and chew with delight. 

Climate Change

I guess this is love

In a time of climate change

We can taste it on our tongues

Rich and crude

The essence of survival 

We are standing by the sea

The waves crash against the rocks

Like heat

A kettle boiling 

Just in time for tea 

We will grow flowers

From seeds 

Plant them in thick compost

Let them ripen 

Create a rare habitat 

A place where we can play

And dream 

The world is changing 

Sometimes it feels 

That we can not keep up

Better to lie still

Watch the shadows play out

On the ceiling

The sun fading

The moon cropping up

I wonder how long we can survive

It all seems so tenuous 

This love

In a climate change. 

Childhood Stories

I really loved those little books

Alice

Loved them so much I chewed 

Their cardboard covers

As if by eating them

The sugary words

Would fall inside me

And fill me up

Do you remember what was in them

She asks

There was a rabbit

I say

You mean Rabbit

No little Cricket

There are more than one rabbit

This one was called Peter

How strange

She says

What are the other names

I believe there is a Velveteen Rabbit 

But we never had one of those

I wonder if those chewed little books

Are still out there

Waiting for another child

To fulfil 

I am sure they are

She strokes my face

Stories never leave us

They are the building blocks

Of different stories

Memories and love

All wrapped up

I would do anything to hold those little books 

Again

Well it is a good job you stole them then

We sit back and giggle 

The best ending to any story. 

Unrelated

Perhaps we have very little 

In common 

She tweets

In an unrelated way

I look her in the eye

Over the flames 

Of the campfire

Nothing could be further 

From my mind

Little Cricket

We always find a way

To see the world together 

Different versions of reality

A place with the same taste 

In the air

I look at the brand on my arm

She studies it too

Are there any more stories

She asks

I am getting peckish 

Always

I say

The world is full of stories 

And tales

You wrote one yourself

Didn't you know

I was just a character

She says

No Alice

You are much more than that

You are a guiding light

A beginning

And an end

But always alive

She curls her toes

As if she is enjoying the words 

In an unrelated way we are together

I hope that will last for a very long time

So do I she whispers

As the embers of the flames

Die down

And fade

We hold each other tight.