Sarah Ip
In Wonderland

                  for my sister, whom I affectionately call Alice

She swooshes her black and white petticoats
Ruffled crinolines sashay and float
Fluffy straight bangs nearly conceal her eyes
But I see her hunched by the wayside
Curb
Her hunger for happiness
Consumes her
Has no place in this small frame
I’ll shoot side-by-side
Omit the flash: overexpose her
Dangle this ring of cords
Round her finger
Stir the pot, cool the chai
Serve and simmer.

She crawls deep down below
Shrinking into the yellowing horizon
Forever entrenched in her rabbit hole
The Queen of her Heart stays mum
The Caterpillar offers a puff
She takes that snuff
And crushes it with her flat heel

She will never kneel.

<< Back to Issue 12, 2008