everyone knew i wasn’t quite right
standing barefoot —
stone walls surrounding me.
the Mad Hatter’s having a tea party
inside my head —
but I’m not invited.
small white rabbit stares – still —
afraid to move —
my eyes blur, i blink. he’s gone.
i stumble through my curiosity —
never fully sure of myself
until i fall down the hole —
tumbling head first.
too big
too small —
never just right.
just who am i anyway?
holding still as a statue
to hide myself from the rage
burning from within —
red as roses
painted just right.
Tweedle Dee
Tweedle Dum —
the words my mouth speak
are never my own —
just who am i anyway?
smoke rings and toadstools —
mind-altering wisdom
penetrating prosaic thoughts.
i wake from dreams
but am never quite there —
lost in a multicolored array of flowers
that dare to bloom
amongst the dried up grass and weeds.
just who am i anyway?
still the caterpillar —
always the caterpillar —
crawling. slowly crawling —
never flying.
Posted by Bluejellybeans on February 26, 2013 at 4:15 am
I loved it!
Posted by Dayle Lynne on March 3, 2013 at 10:42 am
Thank you, Giovanna!
Posted by Bee on February 26, 2013 at 12:38 pm
Great take on Alice in Wonderland!
Posted by Dayle Lynne on March 3, 2013 at 10:42 am
Thank you, Bee
Posted by nataliedeyoung on February 26, 2013 at 12:58 pm
Ooo, I loved how the structure imitates the subject matter, and the questioning develops the speaker’s confusion! Loved this poem!
Posted by Dayle Lynne on March 3, 2013 at 10:43 am
Thank you, Natalie!
Posted by therealsharon on February 26, 2013 at 2:18 pm
Love it! And how funny that you were just mentioning the big/small thing in regards to my teacher and my writing the other day!
Posted by Dayle Lynne on March 3, 2013 at 10:43 am
Thanks, Sharon! And yeah, I was thinking about that as I wrote this
Posted by theroadfromhawaii on February 26, 2013 at 8:19 pm
Impressed. It was a great read and clever use of the prompt.
Posted by Dayle Lynne on March 3, 2013 at 10:43 am
Thank you
Posted by Sandra on February 27, 2013 at 3:22 am
Quite surreal, enjoyed it.
Posted by Dayle Lynne on March 3, 2013 at 10:43 am
Thank you, Sandra!
Posted by Suzanne on February 27, 2013 at 8:30 am
Very well done! Love the structure of the poem as much as the content. Love this line in particular: “mind-altering wisdom penetrating prosaic thoughts” – wonderful!
Posted by Dayle Lynne on March 3, 2013 at 10:44 am
Thank you, Suzanne! And that was my favorite line to write, so I’m really happy you liked it
Posted by Esther on February 27, 2013 at 9:58 am
the Mad Hatter’s having a tea party / inside my head —
Love this!
And the last stanza encapsulates the poem as a whole so well.
Posted by Dayle Lynne on March 3, 2013 at 10:45 am
Thank you, Esther
Posted by iasoupmama on February 28, 2013 at 9:36 am
Very cool — I love looking at famous tales from the perspective of a secondary character.
Posted by Dayle Lynne on March 3, 2013 at 10:45 am
Thank you so much!
Posted by modmomelleroy on February 28, 2013 at 5:06 pm
I love this! “penetrating prosaic thoughts” The caterpillar… This is stellar!
Posted by Dayle Lynne on March 3, 2013 at 10:46 am
{Smile} Thank you!!!