Heart

She comforts my heart
With her smile
Her eyes glow
Like fireflies
You can see them shine
From a mile away
It is hot
We are both sleepy
Sore from lying still
We crave the rain
A spell of wetness to ease our pains
The sun was unforeseen
You will get used to it
She whispers
It is a pity I cannot advise myself
Quell all the torment
And the worries
I curl up small
Just like her
As if I copy her
I will become her
But would I really want that
To never be allowed to grow
There is more than one way to grow
She interrupts
Age is not growth
Not necessarily wisdom either
So we wait for the sun to fall
For our self to unfurl
Underneath the starry cool sky.

Metaphor

Alice sits on the window sill
The sky a blue and white blanket
Falling around her shoulders
Her long hair a flowing golden river
Her feet tap out a silent rhythm
A steady pace
As if she is calm
Each kick of the heel
A punctuation mark
Not a question mark
She giggles
All our life is fiction
Perhaps today there is less conflict
A fight we can edit out
To love and belonging
Do you know the plot
She says
No little cricket
We just take it a verse
A poem
At a time
Let our mood guide the way
That sounds just right
She says
I am glad I am in your stories
It is as if I belong
Like I can be shared
You exist to everyone who believes
I reply
She hops down as the light fades
The ink on the paper disappearing
Blows me kisses
Gentle as the flowers of affection.

Spider

The spiders are busy
Spinning their milky webs
They are our friends tonight
We spend a longtime watching
They give us a magic
We cannot explain
Twisting and turning in the air
As if they know when to start
And quit
Alice looks harder
As if she knows someone
Will give her advice
I am incoherent
Happy in the silence
Sometimes our life feels demented
But it is ours
The rain will come and
Wash the webs away
We will stay
Wrapped up in the misty sky
Breathing gently
Waiting for morning to come.

Sugar

Alice chews a shooting star
Whilst sitting on the moon
I watch her fizz and glow
Sparkle and twirl
All the best things in the world are sweet
She squeals
I run my tongue over my blackened teeth
Fearful they may fall out
Just as we dreamed
She says
There are sugar mice in the cupboard
Jellybeans in the drawer
Strawberries slowly ripening
In a crystal clear bowl
When the fizzing stops
She jumps down
Falls next to me on the bed
Her hair sticky
Where she wiped her fingers
Tomorrow we will brush the sugar out
For now we will enjoy the buzz
The feeling of being full
Drowsy
Sleepy
Glowing.

Reflection

We peer at our reflection
Playing with the mirror
Your face looks stolen and faded
She says
My hair looks silver
Long and knotted
Hers is laced with
Daisy chains
It makes her look
Fair and free
We will play until sun fall
Make our payment to Hatter
If we do not he may well
Deliver us a cruel joke
She whispers
Secretly we know
Everyone is a friend
The light pours through the window
We drink iced tea
To cool down and stay awake
In a few hours the moon will come
A kinder light
In which to look at ourselves
A fresher breeze
A tonic to our aching skin
Look she says
The mirror is changing
A shadow falls on its curve
How pretty we are
She exclaims
And for a brief moment
I think
Yes
How pretty we are indeed.

Sight

They say we see the little things
Caterpillars on leaves
On trees
Never the forest
Nothing passes us by
It makes our head ache
Ten of diamonds
Eight of clubs
Rainbows
Rabbits
And cream
All the world is signs and symbols
There to be read
She says
She sits on the shelf
Swinging her legs
Another night of
Broken dreams
Visions
Pictures
Clues
Today we will eat honey
She declares
I am stuck
Find it hard to reach the kitchen
I fall asleep
She settles
We live in harmony
Seeing the same things
Knowing the same things
Together
As one.

Passport

I clutch my passport
For a while
I had to look at the name
And the picture
To tell who I was
We cast wishes into the sky
Like kites
Brushing the clouds
Ushering down the rain
A steady river of water
My face is hot
I place my fingers on my cheek
The heat transfers
The tears cluster on my finger tips
The grapes have turned brown
Forgotten in the bowl
The weight of the world
Feels to be descending
We lie still
It is too dark to read my name
See my picture
If you can't see who you are
You can be anyone you like
She says
I take a deep breath
Try to believe.

Red

Things were different back then
She says
Out of nowhere
Remember when the Red Queen
Touched our shoulders
Sent waves of blue electricity
Down our spine
Now the bed is changed
Red to blue
And the Red Queen
Has left forever
Never forever
Alice says
No one leaves Wonderland
But this is real
I protest
As real as me
She chuckles
She pours some tea
I lie in the fresh blue bed
It feels nice
I suppose
Sleep is even better
It comes
Eventually
Just like it did back then
We sip tea
Look at the rain out of the window
The words mark time
Different
But the same
A story in process
Slow but sure
Known and unknown
How we wish for that strong arm
On our shoulder.

Braid

I wash and braid her hair
It falls down the middle of her back
Soft
Smooth
Pretty
It is these simple times
Which grace us with joy
Quiet
Slow
Swimming
Thoughts unjumbled for a moment or two
A pause in the parade of worries
Not quiet blissful
Not quite bad
Things which make us calm
In the distance we hear the gate
Blowing open and closed
In the breeze
It is a steady rhythm
Like a heart beat
Lub-dub lub-dub
It makes us feel sleepy
As if we have just filled up
On cake and tea
How many days have we slept away
She asks
Too many little cricket
Too many
Best we move then
She declares
As if it was as easy as braiding her hair.

Pavement

We hit the pavement
Like the flies hit the window pane
Skip
Trip
Fall
The concrete is smooth
And cool
It soothes our aching skin
The rain drops shoot through
Our veins
Bzz
Like electricity
She giggles
She knows everything about the light
We lie still
What better place to be
It is quiet
Not too soft
Not more than we deserve
We can roll on our backs
Make patterns in the clouds
Truth is we can't get up any more
We are dead still tired
Rigid as the pavement
As unyielding as the mossy pillow
We have forgotten how to get back
Not like the flies
They always know where to go
Towards the sun
She claps her hands
But the sun is fading
And the concrete moves from smooth to rough
Cool to cold
We must move
Before the stars come out
We crick and shake our bones
Prise ourselves up
Head for home
Wherever that might be.