Zero

I look in the mirror

Our bruises match

What’s mine is yours 

She hops down

There is always a cost 

When you hit the bottom

That is why I fell

But never landed

She brushes her blue dress

Sits in my lap 

Time is a cruel boot

Banging our bones

Muffling our breath

She plays with the string

Wraps it round her fingers

Makes a ball

A little universe

And a theory

Discovered 

Drowning

Deep in our pockets

I think I lost myself Alice

She chews her lip

Considers

You have lost your meaning 

There is a difference

You have turned yourself into

A zero sum equation

No way ahead

No going back

Demons and love 

Equally hung

Like a sticky pot

Or a trap

I lick the sugar from my lips

Lie on the floor

Watch the spiders and the flies

All run out of wishes

She holds my hand gently

What’s mine is yours 

She whispers

Giving me all the wishes 

In our world. 

Dapple

I wonder how real people live she says

Tucking the universe into her pocket

The pink sky falls on her cheeks

Like dappled apples

Sprinkled from the sky

She hops down from the window 

Straightens her dress 

And her hair

Rather elaborately 

I would imagine

Tea and cakes at noon

Sandwiches and milk for supper

She traces her fingers over the floor

You can see all the stains in this light

It’s just like a story 

But backwards

Hatter would make sense of it

He never made it to the end of tea

Or the beginning

He fell asleep before we poured a single drop 

Last night circles her lips

I look in the mirror

The same circle drawn upon my face

A trail of filth and words

We are quite the conundrum

Not quite awake

Never asleep

I wonder how real people live she says

Tucking the universe into her pocket

The pink sky falls on our cheeks 

Like dappled apples

Sprinkled from the sky

We lie on the floor

Breathing in 

Everything we will ever be. 

Catalyst

We melt bananas 

In the candle light

High in our apple tree tower

Late at night

Mind drifting

Declining

Tripping over the weight of ourselves 

We are so far behind

We have passed ourselves

She chimes

Sugar slipping down her chin

I wrap myself around

The silver chimney pot

She rolls up her sleeves

Swishes and spins

Signs and symbols

Painted

Streamed and burnt within

Catalyst testing

A solution of showers

More wishes than our wildest dreams

We settle in the city

Cars flow like water

A shell pressed against our ear

A pine cone falling 

That nobody hears

A sheet of white paper 

Arms open

Waiting 

We melt bananas 

In the candle light

High in our apple tree tower

Late at night. 

Render

I coat my brain

In liquor sugar and moons

My breath blue

Like the finest rendered glue 

Curious she says

Hopping down

My eyes roll  

Clunk 

Thunk

Arcade pennies

Falling down

Without a mirror I do not know my face

That’s why they call it a looking glass silly

You have to look

To see

I use my fingers

Feel

Stitches

Bone

And glue

Time passed

Apathetic as bruises

Or triangle stars

They stuck you back together again

She giggles

But they were far too bashful with their stitching

You can see every line and frown

Every moment wasted upside down

Mother would not be amused

I coat my brain

In liquor sugar and moons

My breath blue

Like the finest rendered glue.

Translucent

How are you feeling now

Translucent

She claps her hands

Trills 

Slips down

She is in the head office

I am in the parlour

My lips sticky

Playing mother

Father

She bends the red straw

Makes a bow

I wear a groove in my mouth

Cushions couch and cards collide

Memories grind

Warped vinyl faces 

Muttering

Wasted

I can never turn the volume down

Memories are a grave machine

Pouring obstacles out like riddles

I’d rather have tea

She lounges back on Hatter’s hat

We chew ice 

Close our eyes

Tired from hunting symbols

Mine taste like figs and cherries 

I hold her hand

Meet midway between 

Parlour and sky

I can’t remember sweetness 

It’s easy if you try

I use my temple mind

Not to get giddy or high

To understand 

I see stars on your face

And blood in our bones

All the world translucent.

Wake

Who woke up the creature underneath

She really is unacceptable

She swings her legs

Looks down

Past the curtains and the frowns

Once you wake a monster

They will never go away

That is why you are stuck 

It is no coincidence

That you chew on spiders 

And suck on glue

She hops downs

Looks in the fridge

The light burns my eyes

She pretties her hair in the empty bottle 

As if it is a vanity mirror  

I am floor Bound

Bound to the floor

The coffee old

Ransacked

And cold

She pulls up her stockings 

And sings

Never let the wolf in

One step through the door

And he will chase you forever more

I close my eyes

Sleep a long lost dream

Open my hand

Feel the keys

And the blood

Pull up my rust belt and sing.

Willow

She bends the willow

Her hair and hands a tangle

Make a wish she sings

Blowing out the candles

I am waiting underground

Grime and shame 

Falling off me

Foul

Tarnished

Touched

Unsteady

My fingers hit the gravel

Electricity spinning 

Blue and yellow

Insanity rules on high

Knock three times 

And you will find the answer

I gain momentum

Each dull thud a sport

Nothing to rejoice or win

She giggles 

Have you met the polar bears

They are swimming in the rock pool

If you remember what you seek

Your dreams will be your shield

Her words fall in my lap

Two little girls meshed together

Scorned lost instincts shattered

The Red Queen won the board

Left us torn and tattered

She bends the willow

Her hair and hands a tangle

Make a wish she sings

Blowing out the candles.

Aviator

Do you prefer stars or moonbeams

She asks

Most specifically

I snuff up the remains 

Scrape hints of powder 

From fingers

Floor 

And open doors

You must learn how to enjoy it more

Temptation is a gift

If you use it properly 

She jumps down

Delicate as falling breath

It’s funny when you disappear

Your eyes spin like plates

And your lips turn blue

I will have to tell Hatter 

He likes the bottom of teacups too

We swing our legs to and fro

Where did the button man go

He went away

Like everyone goes away

We crunch ice

Loud as planets colliding in our ears

I miss him

Time carries on 

With or without us

This feels painfully slow 

She holds her tummy 

I’m sorry little bean

You can always leave  

Never she squeals

There’s still much work to do

I tie green ribbons around my fingers

Like sails or wings 

The glue is quite the paradox she giggles

We are stuck in this hole

But keep on flying

Like stars and moonbeams

Breathing in and out another day.