Alice in the Afternoon

Alice in the morning

Was a foil for the sunrise,

Her eyes were filled with splinters 

Of another sleepers dream. 

She looks down on a city  

And is tired of her future,

Knowing she is drowning  

In the overwhelming stream. 

Alice in the afternoon

Found wrinkles in a mirror,

She brushed her hair with tortoiseshell 

And felt the sun go down.

Sometime in the evening

She started into cleaning,

With dusters she kept tearing

From her virgin wedding gown.  

Alice in her rocking chair

Winnowing her memories,

She's finding pain and gemstones 

In grains that she has panned.

Somewhere in the long age

A moments playing over,

Then fading with the music 

Alice reached to take his hand. 

Copyright© Alan Gilbert 2011.