“Down The Rabbit Hole” by Rie Sheridan Rose

Songs of Eretz Poetry Review is pleased to present “Down The Rabbit Hole” by Rie Sheridan Rose.  Rose has authored six chapbooks of poetry.  In addition to several previous appearances in Songs of Eretz http://eretzsongs.blogspot.com/search?q=rie+sheridan+rose, Rose’s poems have been published in: Penumbra, Illumen, The Voices Project, and Wolf Willow Magazine, as well as three Di-Verse-City anthologies, the 2016 Texas Poetry Calendar, Speculative Poets of Texas Vol. 1, Terror Train, Bones II, No Sight for the Saved, and Abandoned Towers, and in numerous anthologies for Horrified Press. She is also a lyricist, having provided the words for many of the songs on Don’t Go Drinking with Hobbits by Marc Gunn.

Down The Rabbit Hole

Rie Sheridan Rose

When I was a child and first met Alice

I thought her Adventures were a travelogue.

I was sure the rabbit hole was right outside the fence

and if I looked hard enough I would fall 

right through to Wonderland.

The Queen of Hearts would prostrate herself

at my feet,

begging for forgiveness, and I—

being generous—

would cause her to rise 

and put her to work 

in the kitchen

with the Duchess.

I would clean up Wonderland.

It would be a great place after I

took the Red Queen's crown.

That Jabberwocky would guard my gate,

and the Walrus and the Carpenter 

would provide fresh fish.

But wishes weren't horses,

and I never found the rabbit hole

no matter how hard I tried.

I never found the Looking-Glass

that would permit me to step

into that mirrored madness.

But now,

as my eyes fade 

and my memories blur…

I think that I will search again.

Perhaps I was just looking in the wrong spot.

The Hatter will welcome me

with a nice cuppa,

and I will stroke the Cheshire Cat,

feeling at home at last.

Poet's Notes: Alice’s Adventures in Wonderland has always been near and dear to my heart. From earliest childhood, I was wont to wander through the rabbit hole. This poem reflects the adult looking back at the dreams of childhood and hoping to recapture that wonder.

Editor’s Note:  What I enjoy most about this piece is how Rie plays with time--the magic of childhood suddenly thrusts into the soberness of adulthood and then to the childlike hopes of end-of-life adulthood.