There On The Other Side Poem by Mary Angela Douglas

children in antique photographs
are living secret lives
there! on the other side

their looking glass eyes
glint like a moon between trees.
and in a thin disguise,

there, the children pour tea
with their dolls in Victorian dress
or stand before odd window frames

fretful but good at hiding it
uneasy near horsehair parlour sofas
and their forbiddeness.

life goes on even if we'll never

know their names
or understand their games
their sober expressions.

but I am mystified at what is in the frame
they don't seem to be children really.
more like the fairy's changelings.

and I don't think they would answer me
if I said, please can you tell me
if it's Christmas yet

is your dog dead

and did cook's cake fall
in the oven today

and were you sick for a spell
or is it too dingy to tell?

mary angela douglas 27 october 2017