Saturday 9 December 2017

The Untold Story of Alice



The Untold Story of Alice 
 
Woke up from
a dizzy spell
                                             
Lights
Lights everywhere.
What is that noise?
That indistinguishable noise
can’t be repeated-
only continued.

Where am I?
How did I get here?

What’s that smell?

Carts rolling by
with a savory scent.

{gurgle. gurgle}

My stomach
I’m hungry.
I think that’s
the sensation.

Ok.
Let’s get up.

Right foot
Left foot.
There it is:
Just one step at a time.

Who are all of these people?
Where did they come from?

{clackity-clack. clackity-clack}

A carriage rolls by-
pulled by a beautiful brown horse.

I need some answers.

“Excuse me, sir?
Where am I?”

“Why miss!
You’re standing in the
middle of Times Square!
You’re in New York City,
of course!”

“Right!
Silly me!”-I proclaimed

Bug-eyed,
I rushed off.

Heart pounding hard
Head spinning
Cotton mouth

I gotta get home.

{tick-tock. tick-tock}

Hours went by.

Stumbled upon
a crazy man
in a tall hat.

He was of no use.

Bumped into a
set of twins.

What a waste of time!

To top it all off,
this weird-looking cat
keeps following me.

{tick-tock. tick-tock}

It’s 3am.

And why the heck
are people still out
and about?

Shouldn’t they be
slee-
whoa.
I don’t feel so good.

{meow}

Not now cat!
I must lie down.
Here’s a pla-

{thunk}

Woke up from
a dizzy spell

{beep. beep. beep}

Where am I?
Why am I tucked
in so tight?

White walls
White bed spread

“Ah!
You’re up!
How are you feeling?”

“A bit dizzy sir.
Pardon me for asking,
but where am I?”

“You don’t remember, do you?
Alice, you’re in the hospital.

We recovered you
from that risky
hike you took
a week ago.

Alice, that day of the hike,
it broke 124 °.
That’s the hottest it’s
ever been here in Arizona.

You’re in here because
you fainted from
dehydration.

You’re lucky it
wasn’t worse.”

{tick-tock. tick-tock}

Clock on the wall
struck 3pm.

“Alice, I’ve contacted some
of your family members.

A man in a tall hat,
by the name of Johnny,
stopped by.

A set of twins,
by the names of Matt and Max,
stopped by as well.

And oh!
Your mother brought
your pet cat over to
keep you company.

Now, you rest
and I’ll come by later
to check on you.”

Wide-eyed,
I stared at these

white walls
white bed spread

and laughed.

“Oh doctor?”

“Yes Alice?”

“If you wouldn’t mind
bringing me a glass of water.
I think I’ll need it now….”        

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