A Town Unlike Alice
OUR EXPERIENCE OF HER MADNESS
Our experience of her madness starts when Alice shuts
our own front door, with us outside, and doesn't leave it on the latch!
She takes us into a darkness where every doorway recess
holds rubbish bags, or worse – God, no – yes, human rubbish!
She must be mad. Why doesn't she explain, make things come right?
Alice is speechless, a barb has curbed her tongue,
look, like a blackberry thorn, it's made it bleed -
she's put us on the spot – kiss her tongue better? Pull the barb out?
Alice indicates, again, the human rubbish slumped in the archway recesses,
these have no history, nor meaning, hospitals and God
have shut them out like us, they curse us, this is frightening,
they seem to expect shelter, money, food from us and medicine.
This experience is hateful, how we hate it being forced on our notice!
It's never on the news, not mentioned in the policies of either Party.
Tongue mangled, Alice indicates the very sick. They need our help?
Still neon glows on brick that is dark with lack of sleep,
this is a nightmare – suddenly it seems, if we'd pulled out that thorn
Alice could guide us and instruct us in humanity, explain
how we could help with public protests. Laughter and hope would quicken
the abandoned unreported sick, the moon would be rosy-haloed in a brilliant Heaven!