Till Human Voices Wake Us

Too soon, awake.
Cold walls surrounding
yet not enfolding me
ice blue plaster, refracting my soul's lament.
Mermaids singing beyond the Rabbit's Hole,
soft notes barely heard along silver thread
tying me to that mystic place
longed for without need for thought.

Above my spindle bed,
Jesus and his Peaceable Kingdom
sadly watching, as always,
within the gilded frame.
Did you miss me Jesus, while I was gone?

Beyond the windowsill, green woods beckon.
Hickory ladies wearing Easter Bonnets
above their verdant leafy gowns,
bending gracefully in Spring's embrace
eluding Winter's dying kiss.

Unused to the cold, I shiver,
longing with every cell for Wonderland.
Holding on as long as memory serves,
to the roar of crashing waves,
beyond fuchsia and lime green walls.

Magic quickly fading
gleaming thread receding in a silver blur
backward along a narrow line.
Summoned home to tropic shore,
beyond scope of my dreams,
beyond memory of a changeling girl.