Starry Night

We sleep under 

The swirling clouds

Hunting for stars

Crystals of light 

To guide us 

Like paint on a page

Turning into a picture

Simple and pure

We take deep breaths 

She holds my hand 

That's all we can do

She whispers

It's not time to leave yet

There has been enough 

Blood 

Pain

Mutilation 

I can feel tears swelling

In my eyes

I don't know why

I am so unhappy 

Then I look at my face

And know 

The night sky is like a blanket

It soothes us

We leave the window open

An invitation to the moon 

To join us

To bring us magic 

In this starry night. 

Revolution

You know we will 

Have to leave

One day

She says

Sipping her favourite tea

We've been waiting so long

We have forgotten what

We are looking for

Peace

Quiet

Sleep

A hand to hold

We look out of the window

The sky is thick with cloud

Maybe it will snow

She giggles

Then we will be

Trapped here forever

Always unsteady on

Our toes

I wish life was brighter

I say out loud

I wish the shivers and aches

Would go away

All in good time

You're doing the right thing

That is what the voices say

I try my hardest to listen

Hope that if I do

There will be a revolution. 

Fire

We chased the cat

Through the mirror

And the corridors 

Can I tell you a secret

I whisper to Alice in the dark

Of course she replies

I set my arm on fire

I say 

There were flames 

And ashes 

Now I am living with the debris

A secret I held in a box

For so long

It almost killed me

She looks at me

In her usual fashion 

Refrains to speak

That is her gift 

Unconditional love

Water to put out the flames

Kisses to ease the pain.

The End of the World

Thank you for the tea

She says

Scrambling down 

From the kitchen table

Were there gifts 

When you were born 

She asks

Gazing dreamily 

Out of the window

I scrape the butter

Across my toast 

Never one for gossip 

Perhaps someone laughed

I reply 

In my head I know they didn't

But there are some ghosts

You cannot lay to rest 

They fill your stomach with remorse 

Make you carry an umbrella

When the sun is shining brightly

Perhaps the world

Ends here

With a prayer 

And a re-birth

We close our eyes

And imagine.

Kindness

Alice giggles

We don't have to leave until 

Tomorrow

Then rain pours down the

Window sill 

Mother will come

Maybe sister will come too

I didn't know 

You had a sister

She says 

Of course 

Little Cricket 

Just like you 

My sister is my 

World 

My mother

My friend

My everything 

She was kind 

Just like you 

A simple 

Act of kindness. 

Memory

I do not remember 

Being small 

I say

In the middle of the night

That's funny

Alice giggles

I have always been small

And it suits me fine 

Do you remember falling 

Of course Little Cricket

I tumbled down 

The Rabbit hole 

Just like you

Except I am big 

And it is harder to run

When you are big 

Just ask mother 

She is small

And always running

Maybe we should 

Invite her to tea

Alice says

Always the optimist 

The cool air

Licks our ankles 

As the stars fade 

And the moon gets 

Ready to swap 

With the sun 

Perhaps there will be 

New memories

A different story to tell

We rest our head against the pillow 

Close our eyes

And dream.

Bluebird

The bluebird strayed

In the Indian sky

Its wings high 

We hit 

Our head

Wish for dreams 

A little bit

Of sleep 

We are not 

From this place

We are stuck 

In the red room

Praying for a way out 

A place 

Free from nightmares 

We want to sing and dance 

Wallow in the water

All we can smell

Is fear 

And powder 

Tomorrow will be different 

She whispers 

For once 

I believe her.

Fairy Tale

Life is a dream

A fairy tale 

We hold hands

In the dark 

Laugh silently 

Mother can't hurt us now

No more apples 

To bite 

Worms to destroy 

We can sleep 

All day 

If we want to

There are no rules 

In Wonderland 

Everything is a dream

A brilliant dream.

Love

I love you Alice

I say 

I stroke her hair

Hold her hand

The sun is shining 

Mother will come

The birds will sing 

The sky will turn blue 

I bite my nails

All that glitters

Is not gold 

Busy hands 

Make work for the devil 

My other mothers 

Love me 

That is enough 

We breathe

Sink into our dreams.

Spice

My sister likes spice

She chops the cumin finely 

Alice eats 

Raw pepper 

We squeeze the tomato

On our plate

Someone is coming to dinner 

We like mashed potato 

The curry gently 

Thaws n the fridge 

Our teeth are yellow

We will hide in our shell

Tomorrow is another day, 

Blue

The sky is blue

All that glitters

Fades 

The gate closes 

Alice pauses 

For a minute 

We remember everything

The dogs bark

Mother cones 

Again 

We will lie in the red bed

It's blue 

Silly

She cries 

I don't want words any more 

They make me blue 

My feet are swollen 

Best raise them on 

A pillow

She bites her nails 

I sigh 

Take a deep breath

And dream. 

Miracle

We break the bread

In our hands

We are hungry

There is enough food

To feed an army

She giggles 

All we need 

Is wine and powder 

A simple division 

That makes us human 

Everything goes around

Like fish 

In a bowl 

Patterns and swirls 

I would make 

A tribute to you 

The miracle 

Of giving.

Shoes

We look out of the window 

See the tree 

With the robins and blue tits

The sky is dark

Full of rain

We smell the grass

Petrichor 

We whisper 

Not wanting to sound

Too clever 

The door is locked

We do not feel safe 

Always have our shoes

Ready

To run 

Flee 

The powder 

Only takes us so far

Today we will stop 

She breathes a sigh of relief

It is good to be back

I couldn't have done it without you

We hold hands 

And drift off

Peaceful in our world. 

Book

What's your favourite book

I ask

That's easy 

Little Cricket

Yours 

I reply

The skies are turning grey

Winter is around the corner 

We will have 

To leave the room soon 

For now we dream 

Wait for the rain

To subside 

We breathe 

In the air 

Grass and rich clouds 

I hold her hand 

And we sleep.

Snow

Winter is coming 

We are scared 

Too many leaves

To trip over 

And fall 

We have to leave

The room soon

We sip 

The water

The clocks 

Have stopped 

We cry out in our sleep

Deep breaths 

Alice says 

Yes Little Cricket

We will breathe deeply tonight.

Abandonment

We did not feel grief

When father left the house 

It was a relief

A breaking off 

Of the circle 

It was sweet

Like roses 

We were sorry

That we had to spend

So much time 

In hospital 

We were threatened 

By the women there

So we kept ourselves

To ourselves 

Alice never abandoned me

She kept me 

Between worlds

A kind of nostalgia 

The opposite

Of abandonment.

Elegy

I do not think

About losing you

You are my light

In this shady world 

We will not

Lose one another

She whispers 

As long as we have 

Each other

There will always be

Another day 

I sip the tea

Look out of the window 

It is dark

But we like to see

The stars 

And Catherine wheels

It is the simple 

Things in life

That keep us going

I take my hand 

In hers

Hold tight 

Ans breathe.

Moving

What is your favourite

Book

Asks Alice

That's easy Little Cricket

Yours 

I say 

The dogs bark 

And the ceiling moves 

We would like 

To move

I trust you

I say

The gates are closed

The sky is dark

Mother stole 

The powder

You can't blame 

Everything on mother

She says

You are grown now

The birds

Circle overhead

A storm is brewing 

We will hunker 

Down in bed

Wait for tomorrow 

Enjoy our dreams.