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.