Alice The Small And Brave Before The Fantastic Poem by Mary Angela Douglas

'Alice the small and brave...' a faint voice glowed on the wind
oh why pretend she almost fumed...'before the fantastic'.
and the voice resumed its nonsense.

then I woke up, said Alice later
not remembering what I saw in the mirrors.
not knowing what to write in chalk

on a slate that suddenly seemed too small
to hold it all.
what will the Red Queen say, the White,

preoccupied me. and wandering out of doors
in gardens not my own in my thin sleeves.
oh am I wiser then and am I really grown?

or who is pasting hearts of red in an antique album
fed and watered by imaginary springs?
never on birthdays would it be the same.

look deep when you dream.
so you'll remember where you were
in between cloud and cloud

when you couldn't hear your mother
her voice made of raspberries...
calling you into Tea.

mary angela douglas 2 may 2015; 17 march 2016