Hattie’s Tea Party
“I find her quite intimidating, actually,”
said Dormouse sleepily,
“not the sweet little girl I expected
and I really hope Hattie
doesn’t invite her
I don’t think she would
quite fit in.”
“Who the cares if she fits in or not,”
replied Rabbit firmly.
“In a mad world no one knows their place.
Hattie will be asking her questions
and he knows the importance of madness,
so if she can’t answer madly,
then she’ll have no place.”
But it was they who had no place,
they who were transformed,
consumed
in the madness
so only the whiskers and ears
of their old selves were left,
while Alice danced her way in,
invited or not,
and sat in the spotlight
like a star.
And it was Hattie who had to leave.
Their cups were empty.
He had forgotten the tea.
The Old Hall
It was more Wuthering Heights than gingerbread house.
And the old woman living there alone
was no more a witch
than the raindrops
hanging
from the trees
were really diamonds.
We knew that.
Even though
she said that they were.
And she gave us drinks candy bars.
Surely no witch would be so kind
to children who were trespassers
and teenagers looking to party.
We didn’t see the ghosts,
not then.
But later
we watched them dig up the garden
and under the drifts of snow
we smelled the flesh
and saw the bones
of past trespassers and party-goers.
And afterwards,
nature reclaimed it’s space
so the hall stands empty
and no one else remembers
an old woman
still
only
the raindrops remain
frozen in winter,
frozen in time
hard
as diamonds
soft
as tears.
Still
we don’t know
why.
First published in Belladonna’s Garden, Winter 2025
After The Party
It was a good party.
“you’ll be seeing pink elephants tonight”
they laughed.
I didn’t believe them
I thought the elephants would be blue,
a better colour for me.
But it was me that was blue.
The elephant I was riding
was just
elephant coloured.
It was a very good party.
First published in The Daily Drunk, April 2020
Lynn White lives in north Wales. Her work is influenced by issues of social justice and events, places and people she has known or imagined. She is especially interested in exploring the boundaries of dream, fantasy and reality. She has been nominated for Pushcarts, Best of the Net and a Rhysling Award.
https://lynnwhitepoetry.blogspot.com and https://www.facebook.com/Lynn-White-Poetry-1603675983213077/
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