Mary Angela Douglas Poems

[to Charles Schulz]

close your eyes and pray to land in Oz
I say to myself on gusty days
...

simple it was then and lovely to be told
that all the leaves were red and gold
and this was named, autumn
...

[for Sara Teasdale]

the blossom that fell from the Poetry Tree
I cupped in my hands: was it the colour of snow?
...

time ticks in your hands with a sad translucence
you don't understand because
the metronome is weighted
...

[after the tale of Hansel and Gretal}

this is all that we have left, we said to ourselves-
in the Land of Going Away;
...

well here's that Umbrella you lost
right beside the Parrot in the upside down cage;
the cerise one you bought in the drugstore
...

[to Hans Christian Andersen]

far from the orchid Heavens still,
mermaid like as I may be, swimming
...

sometimes the Real seeps under the door
and you are happy and you can't think why
though there's no sunshine in the sky.
...

a pale green mound of pistachio ice cream
in a pale pink dish
would be so delish
...

in invisible writing
where there are pinholes for stars
on black velvet
...