A Town Unlike Alice
FIRELIGHT BURNS AWAY THE INVERTED COMMAS
Coal firelight dances hotly, gladdening darkness
with light and warmth and gilding Betty, buttering toast:
Betty, sustained by an extraordinary faith.
She treats Alice gently, knows she's hearing Voices.
Her remarks are commonplace to ground Alice
in the realities of blazing fire and eating buttered toast.
Alice feels her wretchedness ease, finds she can reply
in response to Betty's kindness, suddenly she think of the psychiatrist
she asked: “What's wrong with me?” His answer was the taunt:
“What do you mean by wrong?”. The puzzle made her ill,
the “Demon Voice” was like that psychiatrist,
and you are as normal as you're treated by your interlocutor.
Cathy is ever so slightly jealous
seeing Alice respond to Betty, she feels
Betty is her personal property, as, separately, is Alice.
When they talk readily it puts Cathy's nose
out of joint. But Alice smiles at her,
Betty sees, and draws her in: Cathy relaxes and feels happier.