The Old Curiosities Shop

“Curiouser and curiouser”, cried Alice

as she rummaged through the remnants

of other people’s lives,

now offered for sale, 

to become part of 

another person’s life.

“Curiouser and curiouser”, she said 

holding up two fat schoolboy

salt and pepper pots.

“They look like real characters,

I shall name them Tweedle Dumb

and Tweedle Dumber,

for now.”

She searched in vain for a looking glass

to see if she could walk through it.

She had heard this was sometimes

a curious possibility.

But among the objects in a large shiny bag,

she did find a set of playing cards

with a fearsome looking Queen of Hearts.

“I could write a good story about her”,

she thought.

She found the butler with his empty tray

somewhat unsatisfactory.

So she removed the tray

and hung a tape measure round his neck

and put a thimble on his finger.

Now he could measure his former master

for a new suit, she thought.

She was pleased with the transformation 

and thought that maybe it was now time

to transform herself.

She undressed

and donned a little black dress 

that she found in the shiny bag.

She painted her face

and covered her blond hair

with a dark wig

in a new style.

Such a pity 

that there was no looking glass

for her to view her appearance.

She could only imagine

her new self.

Such a pity 

that no one

would ever see 

what she had created.

That no one 

would ever know.

Or so she thought.

https://lothlorienpoetryjournal.blogspot.com/2024/11/four-poems-by-lynn-white.html