Apples

I touch her cheeks

Her skin is as soft

As velvet

My fingers melt 

Into her flesh

Like filling my hunger

With the taste

Of sweet apples 

I wonder if I burden her

On her journey

Cause her grief 

My only journey 

Is when I dream

Sweet long dreams 

Which fill my mouth

With sugar

Not pain 

Sorrow is innate

In the human 

But we are looking

For something new 

Her tiny fingers

Wrap around mine

And we giggle together

Two shiny red apples

Good to be plucked

Happy to greet the sun. 

Burning Love

A single tear falls down

The baby dolls face

We can see because

We are carrying 

A flaming torch

Guiding us along the way

A bird in our hair

Another in a cage

A natural woman

Standing in a field of flowers 

We put the flame

In a glass bottle

Set it out to sea

Hope that many eyes 

Will frame it in 

Their gaze

Like the falling sun

Behind the sunflowers 

We would like to fly

Be held up by birds

Or kites

Floating in the sky

Free from gravity

Reality

A man and a woman 

Sitting crossed leg 

On the bench

We ponder their story

Where they are going

If we will follow them

Wear a red dress

And take an umbrella 

Out in a storm

Our hands are tired

Like a potter's hands

Moulding a tiny cup

All in time for tea

She giggles

The very first angel we saw

Was lilac

Not blue like the leopard

We looked at her

On the busy street

And knew we 

Had found

Our burning love. 

A.I

Do you remember 

The boy

Who sank to the 

Bottom of the ocean

So his mother 

Wouldn't miss him

He wasn't real

She skips 

And claps her hands

In glee

Not like me

He was artificial 

A robot boy

Artificially intelligent

My intelligence 

Is real

She says

And you wouldn't 

Leave me

If a real child 

Came along

Absolutely not

Little Cricket

I am yours

And you 

Are mine

Besides which

Another child

Will never come along

It made me cry

I say

Seeing him in the dark

Slowly powering down

But not dead 

He felt 

And that made me feel too

There is a fine line

Between real

And artificial 

I would choose real every day

I look out of the window

Then back into our room

Not sure what to say

Except 

I love you. 

Altar

We stand at the altar

At sunset

This is our school

A place where 

We can be naked

Splash in the cool river

Remember being young 

Make a wish

She says

I pause

Almost all my hope 

Has died

I do not know my wishes

Perhaps a path

Full of lilacs

Strawberries and cream

Tea with Hatter

She claps her hands

In glee

Every day is an adventure

For her

For me 

I am not so sure

More a mystery 

To be solved

Like riddles

Lining my plate

Lined up like worms

Wiggling 

Hard to pin down

Get a handle on

This is my vow

I say

To make my life

Like yours

To finally be free

To run

Skip

And jump

To clap my hands in glee. 

Prairie

On the prairie lies 

A cowboy on his horse

He has his eyes shut 

Under his hat

He cannot see the cherry blossom

Exploding on the tree

Not like us

We are the women 

Behind bars

A wrought iron gate

Between us and the world

Perhaps he is wishing for snow 

A sprinkling 

Of powder to make 

The land magical

The trees glisten

In the falling sun

Sometimes it feels 

As if we are under water

Blowing bubbles

Like fish in a tank

We wish that we 

Could see more

Like the man and his spectacles 

But we are short-sighted

Not able to rest

Like the cowboy

Mind always busy

Playing tricks

How simple it would be

To fall asleep

On the prairie. 

Song

Alice hums a song

As she busies herself

Here and there

I like to hear her

It is soothing

Not like the songs on

The radio

Which jangle my ears

And make my head bleed

Mostly the humming

Is like silence

A companionship 

Friendly and warm

We spend days like this

Together

But in our own worlds

Her shoes

Make a pitter patter

On the. kitchen floor

Such tiny feet

That have walked 

A thousand miles

Then ten thousand more

All part of the adventure

Don't you think

She giggles

It wasn't me that met the Red Queen

I wouldn't have liked 

Her loud voice

Alice doesn't get tired

Not like me

But there comes a moment 

When the humming stops

And we lie down

At the end of each day

Thankful perhaps

For the silence

And the memories of songs

We used to sing.

This Is My Vow

We take sips 

Of wine

From the cup 

It tastes bitter

Like rust

We do not like it

It makes our throat burn

Brings tears to our eyes

No way to live

Whispers Alice

So I lay the cup

Back on the table

Turn my head

To plucking thorns

From the flowers

Everything is a move

Not a whim

We should take 

More chances

These moves are 

Making us jaded 

I wonder where the adventure

Has gone

Perhaps it is good 

That there are no more riddles 

To solve

Apart from the big ones

Life

Death 

Everything in between

She giggles 

I swear I will not pick up

The cup again

She smiles at me 

Warmly 

Like a friend

This is my vow

I say loudly.

Burn to Shine

We live in the burnt

Out yellow room

Picture frames flaking on the floor

Like ash

Maybe once there was a door

But now we cannot find it

We are the woman

Laid out on the pavement

As if fallen 

Sitting in the window 

Brushing our hair

And watching the birds

Dreaming of outside

It shouldn't be so difficult

To reach 

She whispers

In our dreams 

We swing on chandeliers

Tight rope walk 

Like the dancer 

And acrobat

The old man walks away 

From his broken house

Deep into the fields 

We put on our best

Dress

Yellow 

Also

The fawns gather around

Our legs

We light a torch

And burn to shine. 

The List

There are so many

Things to do

But we are a spent candle

Resting in the 

Tarnished holder

Limbs heavy

Head full 

Where to start

Dust the carpets

Polish the doors

Alice groans

There must be better 

Things to do

She says

Play

Sing

Dance 

Sleep 

I think to myself 

Lists can be helpful

She trills

But I prefer to

Solve each problem 

As it comes

Just like my adventure

I would not survive 

Your adventure Alice

I do not like the 

Element of surprise

Then clean we must

She claps her hands

And readies her hands

A list can build you up

Or knock you down

But you will never know

Until you try it

I close my eyes

And try to think.

Bulwark

We stand on the bulwark

Look out over the 

Common land

In the field 

There are ten waxy tulips

Bright and red

We would like to take

The poets hand and read them 

Turn them into an

Innocent spot

A hawk circles 

Over head

The cry as bold

As tears 

Something is wrong

But we do not

Step down 

We like being high

Alice giggles

Stands next to me 

And the wind 

Caresses our faces

A much welcomed breeze

In the stickiness

Of life

When we sleep

We forget our names

In a way

That is my life

Closed twice.

Fascination

The gate to the field

Is left open

We can see the mist

Gently lingering over 

The green grass

A tree tall and proud

Lines the rocky wall

In our minds 

We reach the lake

Take off our shoes and socks

Let the cool water

Caress our bare arms

Like a dream

She says

And I agree

Looking at my reflection

In the icy blue

But it is not cold

More like silk

Warming to the skin

I would like to be taller

I say

Into the air

Wear a black dress 

And stand up against 

A white wall

No stories to hide

Or share

But every picture 

Tells a story 

She says

She is right

Of course

We travel back to the room

On the window sill 

Is a yellow butterfly 

Preserved in amber

A jar

That once held jam

We sit on the chair 

Take it all in

The simplicity of nature

Our complicated minds

It is truly fascinating

Scary 

And true.

Myth or Fable

Am I more myth than fable

She asks

She is sat at the table 

Empty teapot 

In front of her

It depends if you 

Think your story is true

She thinks for a moment 

Well it must be true

The words

Put me there

I spoke with the Cheshire Cat

And Dormouse 

Sailed in a river of tears

Your adventure I say

Did it teach you anything 

Like Persephone taught us

She asks

Yes I say

Not to look back

We both conclude

We really should have taken her

To a field 

Planted her 

For all the world to see

She was there when we needed her

A kind gift

All part of our myth 

And fable

We will not wait for a prince 

To kiss us

Or an apple to fall from a tree

We will be the authors 

Of our own story 

So to answer your question 

Little Cricket

You are myth and fable

And adventurer

Part of me 

And everybody else

Who finds you

She claps her hands in glee. 

 

The House With No Doors

We live in the 

House with no doors

We rush into the kitchen 

To take tea with Hatter

We do not like coffee

It makes our face curl 

Alice sings a song

Then whistles 

Pleased I think

To be free of modesty 

Our love is clearing a path

Towards the sun

Which tries to shine

On these spring days 

Just gentle showers of rain

Fall from 

Time to time 

If we left the house

We would see the shiny doorknob

The outside handle 

Which can be locked 

Or left open

We lock it of course 

We do not like

Letting the outside 

Come in 

We are quite happy

Playing on our own

Making up stories

Quenching our thirst

There are windows

In the house with no doors

We look out of them

When we know nobody 

Will be looking 

Some might think it a prison 

But we choose to stay 

And are free to move

From room to room 

No keys needed 

Just the flow of us

Being.