WONDERLAND

 

if you think about it I mean really Wonderland

was not that good of a place

although we thank Walt Disney in his genial kindness

turning it into a kind of fun tea party, inventing the tea cup

spin ride

at the original Disneyland in Anaheim

and that lovely song, A Golden Afternoon I could have listened

to for years

from the record my Grandmother gave us

of the soundtrack, my sister and I who very like Alice

also loved blue frocks.

But really I knew then

having read the book many times over both parts: it was a

seriously distressing valentine of a

place though Alice coped as well as anyone could have

who expected things to be reasonably comfy that were called

tea parties.

still, where things go contrary to everything you learned in

school

or at home about the importance of having good manners

what is one to do and where it is possible to drown in your

own tears suddenly

to be too large, to be too small

to be unwelcome after all

though one loves the plight

of the wounded White Knight and his predicaments

even after engraved invitations

in near bridal calligraphy fall through

well, the mock turtle was too morose

going through the mirror proved nothing

except people are all made of glass

and very touchy.

especially the Red Queen

who sentences everyone all the time

before there is any evidence whatsoever

and makes up new infractions for rules that dont exist

and persists in believing she has the power

to alter the colour of roses at whim.

or me, said Alice.said alice, later on every hour

on the hour

the clock chimed backwards

and by royal decree.

mary angela douglas 18 june 2023