up down
and sideways
she falls Alice
in the hole
but there are
no jam jars this
time
she, not
running after
a rabbit
but a little
box of treasures
a flutter of
sweet memories
he flung down
into that space
for her to
catch
only when
Alice lands
with that thump
we will
replace the dry
leaves with
spikes of
the nasty kind
carved out
of the sort
of hurtful
sayings that
you just never
can take
back.