Who’s at My Door?
A salesman arrived at the palace gate:
brown suit, tiny suitcase.
Send him up, said the Queen of Hearts.
Widowhood did not suit her.
She asked about the case contents.
Doll’s eyes, he replied.
Who needs them these days? she wondered.
He agreed sales were down.
She offered him tea and cupcakes.
He lounged on the silk
chaise-lounge, his unbuttoned shirt
revealing a six-pack and hair.
He commented on his pleasure taking
afternoon tea with a Queen,
guzzled the cakes, wiping his hands
on his shirt.
Your company is fine but your table manners
are deplorable, she said.
He rose to leave, two feet taller on his hind
legs than she, gazing
with soft hazel eyes, tongue hanging down
like a cheap red tie.
Black Nights with Pinot Noir
5 p.m. Already half-way into a bottle
of pinot noir, the Queen’s mood is black.
Whatever the time here, or in France,
whatever the excuse for celebration,
she finally admits, she drinks too much.
Quel domage!
She imagines she can feel
her cortex shrivel with each sip.
The purported flavonoid content
will surely compensate for this.
For a moment the beautiful cut glass
in which the garnet-tinted wine sits
appears less dazzling.
She sighs, recalls a childhood
story—a bottle labelled Drink Me.
She holds out her goblet,
a butler pours.
The Queen of Hearts at the Casino
After a gambling loss the Queen ruminated
on why she had followed her horoscope’s
advice and a 1-888 number where a soothing
voice encouraged positive thinking,
seek your inner power.
The horoscope had determined number 33
would be important. She took
her rabbit’s foot and lucky purple
socks, bet on roulette black 33
all night. The ball never landed.
She vowed no palmist, rod diviner,
examination of chicken entrails.
or Delphic Oracle thereafter
would influence her choices—
her brain was already at the mercy
of its own frontal lobe.
She’d remain true to something
familiar—playing cards.
*A a series of persona poems, reimagining Lewis Carroll’s character.
Sharon M. Carter recently retired from a career in healthcare. Originally from the U.K. she currently lives on the Salish Sea. in the Pacific Northwest. Her poems and art have been published online and in many journals including, “One Art,” “Quartet” and the Washington State award winning “Raven Chronicles, Take a Stand: Art Against Hate,” anthology. Her poetry book “Quiver” was published in 2022. “Ekphrastic Pastiche” combining art and poetry was released this September. www.sharonmcarter.com
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