Discovery

I don't know how

Or when

I discovered you

I whisper to her

In the night

I was not young

We weren't allowed words

When we were young

Not even eat me

Or drink me

She replies

No I say

But I did fall down the 

Rabbit hole

She giggles

Perhaps we are still falling

The tree and the riverbank

Out of reach 

To our shaking hands 

And aching hearts 

Perhaps it was destiny

She says

We were meant to be together

And you discovered me

When you were ready

I never want to lose you

I say

Voice louder than the dark

I will be with you 

For as long as you need 

Thank you Alice

I am glad we discovered 

Each other 

Young and old combined

As we drift off

Into a hazy sleep. 

Mouth

She waves to me

From across the room

Her hands flapping

In sheer delight 

I have my back to the wall

Trying to keep steady

To not fall down 

She opens her mouth

Sticks out her tongue

On it is shiny buttons

Colourful dots

Just like candy

I should take them from her

But know she is safe

My charismatic 

Little mistress

She will spit them out

Before the edges become jagged 

Before any damage is done 

We are more than cousins

More than sisters 

Her mouth sets resolute

Just like mine

And in that moment 

I think

We are one.

Wolf

The wolf sleeps 

Silently 

On his tree

Night has passed

And he is wishing away daytime

On the chair is a broken clock

A crow tries to read it

We can tell you the time

She whispers

Wearing a beautiful dress

Arms outstretched

As if in prayer 

Our hair is wild 

Lifted by the wind

All you can see is

Our back

And the remnants of a white dress

Alice likes to blow bubbles

Chase them in the wind

I wear a gas mask 

And remember the flowers

A dandelion 

I think 

She is all pretty

Ligned up against the wall

Dressed in white

Long hair tumbling down

Her cheeks 

On the beach women 

Dance and sing 

Remembering the old wolf

And all that he can bring. 

Darkness and Light

I am the darkness

To her light 

The fading moon

To her rising sun

She skips and dances

I hobble along 

On broken toes

Wondering if I was 

Ever truly young

Carefree

I wonder the same 

About her

As if now we are both old

We have the freedom 

To play

Be childlike 

Make up stories 

And sing

Always music inside

The ability to make a tune

Just like a riddle

It flows and confuses

Time fades 

Just like the moon

We wish the scars would too

As for now

Perhaps we are happy

Complimenting each others 

Light and darkness

Knowing that without one

We could not

Have the other. 

The Truth

I imagine a kind father

One who tells the truth

One that would read to us

Turn the pages

In the fading light

Telling us stories 

Reading us books

Patiently explaining 

Words we do not understand 

He would be a father 

To be proud of

Strong

Capable

Loving

He would open up 

The world to us

Not leave us here alone

Not like our fathers did

Alice tinkers on the piano

Making up tunes

Blocking out the truth

I think 

I am glad we have each other

To love and sing with

I am glad we still have our imagination

That he could not take away 

Steal from us

Like the other things he stole

From our souls 

What we choose to imagine 

Is far kinder than the truth

For that we are grateful. 

Faces

His face is old and wrinkled

A thousand tales

Etched in lines 

And shiny eyes

She is so young

She has saplings

At the end of her arms

As she stands in the forest 

And sings

Her plinth a tree stump

Her audience

Me and the swaying grass

Somewhere out there

Is a road with yellow lines

People busy

Going to and fro

As surreal as a telephone

Sculpted in the desert 

In another life 

We have a black cat

She sits on the table

And mews

No mirrors to jump through

Just gentle fur to stroke

As she moves

Silently 

With grace

We remember the door

With the handle

A hand for the knocker

Please let us in

We whispered 

We have a story on our face 

As well

We will never be wrinkled 

But will one day grow old. 

Light as a Feather

I hold her hand

It is as light 

As a feather

Spring is coming 

We open the windows

Let the breeze

Wash over our face

Everything hurts

Except the sun

She whispers

It is trying to shine

Once the clouds move

We will see it

High up in the sky

We miss the moon and stars

Walking at night

There are too many street lights

To work out the constellations

We listen to the static

The radio waves

Bide our time

Until morning

Her fingers

Are fragile

Like baby bird bones

Hard to imagine 

She was strong enough 

To open the potion

But she is strong 

Perhaps we both are

I like the cool feel of her skin

It makes me feel alive

Light as a feather

Free as a bird. 

The Railroad Worm

We crawl along

Like a railroad worm

Everything hurts

We wish we had wings

To fly away

Luminous and bright

Into the sun

Are we the youngest 

Daughters

She asks

I nod

That would explain 

The powder

The constant attack

Of impending adulthood 

I rub the sore spot

In my joints 

Wish for a shower of rain

To change the air

Like butterflies

Mating on the breeze

We crawl

Step by painful step

All along the railroad 

No destination 

In mind

Two heads one body

Just like a worm

Crawling. 

Broken Apples

We stitch together 

Broken apples

Rest them on a chair

Their skin is green

Our stitches red

We are happy to be busy 

Like a cage full of paper

Full of words

Spilling out

There is a black and white

Photograph

In her hand

I think it is of a little boy

But that would not fit the story

Only girls dance in front 

Of the moon

On a wind swept beach 

Far away from prying eyes

We take a deep breath 

Of smoke 

Dream of kissing

The man we lost

Alice flies through the room

Sprinkling paint

And carrying her umbrella

On the street 

A broken man 

Plays the violin

We do not want to hear

We are happy

Stitching and dreaming

Two broken apples

Joined together.  

Love Letters

We write love letters 

To the wild flowers

They bloom and blossom

Around our ankles

Soft like cotton

Flowing like her hair

We like standing in fields

Feeling the air move 

Around us

The blue skies

Peppered with clouds

When it rains 

The earth welcomes us

The smell

The taste 

The movement 

For one small moment

We feel alright 

As if everything now

Is meant to be

The wind whispers 

To us 

Through the trees

The leaves dance

The bark crumbles

We run our fingers over 

The nooks and crannies 

We would like to pick some flowers

But that is not right

How would they blossom in

Our darkness

Best leave them

Let them cast their magic

Over everyone 

Who sees them. 

The Honest Tongue

I dream of walking 

Through the gate

No need to harry

She trills

You haven't got an appointment 

With the gallows 

The gate belongs to the church

If we could go inside 

We would see the mauve cloths

Hear the tick tick

Ticking of the old clock

We would brace ourselves 

For the hourly clang

Instead we shiver 

Under the moon

The heron's beak

Shines white

Like a star

We are lost 

In our own world 

At least

She chatters 

Happily to herself

I try to hum a tune

I wonder which one of us

Holds the 

Honest tongue. 

Helpers

She sits in the chair

All neat in her white dress

I bind her arms 

With twine

She giggles

The butterflies

Lift her up 

Make her feel weightless 

At night we dream

A swan on our chest

A horse jumping

Over a table 

The man welcomes 

Us into the secret passageway 

It is chequered

He bows his head

Invites us in

There is a mirror

Maybe a door

We are upside down

Standing in an open field 

Glad to be in reach of the rusty knot

It is strong 

Holds the branches together 

A fire rages

As a man reads a paper on the sofa

We are a little bit like him

Oblivious 

Apart from when a door opens 

And offers us

Some light 

Like the old man and the dog

We stand and wonder at the stars

The deer runs into the trees

The butterflies 

Tire 

We will have to find some new helpers

Tomorrow

She whispers

Sugary and tired.  

In the Face of Disaster

In the face of disaster 

We dance and sing

Our years of adventure

Have prepared us 

For the worst 

Every day there 

Is some kind of mess

And chaos

We have a head for chaos 

She trills 

Quite the gift 

Our parents gave us

Now we are stuck in the cycle

At once young

Naive 

And old

Wise

She stops twirling

I wonder what we 

Would do

In the face of happiness

I can barely imagine 

Being happy

There is too much 

Unhappiness marked 

On my skin

She wipes the tears

That fall from my eyes

I am not crying

The tears just fall

I suppose when you

Have a head full of disaster

It has to over flow 

I take her hand in mine 

Together 

We will conquer disaster

And maybe one day

Find happiness. 

Slow through the Dark

We hear strange 

Footsteps on the road

Outside 

They make a devious 

Noise in the darkness

Slow and faithless

Just like us

She giggles

Rising to her full height 

The storm

Grows

Inside us

We do not know

Whether to scream 

Or cry 

Everything feels steep 

And unreachable 

We pass 

Slowly 

Through

The 

Dark

Giddy

Thankful

And lost.