I wrote this poem: Alice

Posted on Thursday, August 14th, 2008 in poems Tags: , ,

I wrote this back in April for National Poetry Writing Month, though *shock horror* I’ve actually revised it a little bit since then.

Brownie points for identifying the source of the title (it’s not that hard).

Alice
I’ve fallen through the cracks in the world.
I am the wild-haired woman with the tea-cosy hat
And mismatched shoes that proclaim ‘I don’t care any more’.
Push past me and you’ll hear me muttering,
Grumbling, complaining under my breath.
I stomp through the park, kicking my way through fallen leaves
And throwing bread for the greedy, grabby pigeons.
Nobody knows me, nobody wants to notice me.
You can’t touch me though.
I’m in my own world and you don’t exist.

© 2008 C Sharp

[Slashdot] [Digg] [Reddit] [del.icio.us] [Facebook] [Technorati] [Google] [StumbleUpon]

7 Responses to 'I wrote this poem: Alice'

Subscribe to comments with RSS or TrackBack to 'I wrote this poem: Alice'.

  1. no imageFrancis Scudellari (Who am I?) said,

    on August 14th, 2008 at 8:23 pm

    Whenever I see “Alice” I think of “Alice’s Adventures in Wonderland” and “Through the Looking-Glass.” I’m not sure that’s what you had in mind here, but perhaps an elder Alice has this time fallen through the cracks rather than down a rabbit hole. She’s also a bit of a mad-hatter.

    I like the poem. It piques my curiosity about the woman and what life path has led her to this particular moment you’ve captured.

    Francis Scudellari’s last post: Amiss and remiss in my posting

    Rate this:
    		3.6 (1 person)
  2. no imageJim Murdoch (Who am I?) said,

    on August 14th, 2008 at 9:02 pm

    Despite it’s obvious origins this poem reminds me very strongly of When I’m an Old Woman I Shall Wear Purple.

    http://www.luvzbluez.com/purple.html

    With a red hat which doesn’t go, and doesn’t suit me.
    And I shall spend my pension on brandy and summer gloves
    And satin sandals, and say we’ve no money for butter.
    I shall sit down on the pavement when I’m tired…

    Yours is a little darker though. I take it Alice is a bag lady. Yes, it works quite well. Love the pigeons.

    Jim Murdoch’s last post: Aggie and Shuggie 5

    Rate this:
    		3.8 (1 person)
  3. no imageCatherine (Who am I?) said,

    on August 15th, 2008 at 10:22 am

    It is of course that Alice who has influenced this poem’s title, Francis. :)
    And I was very possibly subconsciously influenced by When I’m an Old Woman…, Jim - I’m rather fond of it.

    Rate this:
    		3.4 (1 person)
  4. no imageFiendish (Who am I?) said,

    on August 15th, 2008 at 2:31 pm

    What an opening line! It’s a lovely poem, Catherine. Well done indeed. I agree with Jim about seeing some shades of “When I’m an Old Woman,” but it does seem more tragic and somehow cynical than that.

    Fiendish’s last post: Wolf and Bird: Part One

    Rate this:
    		3.9 (2 people)
  5. no imageCatherine (Who am I?) said,

    on August 15th, 2008 at 9:39 pm

    The whole poem came from the first line, Fiendish, as my poems generally do. I think this one came to me while I was in the bath; again, that happens a lot - baths and when driving, my best places for having ideas, and the places I’m least able to write things down!

    Rate this:
    		3.1
  6. no imageRachel Fox (Who am I?) said,

    on August 16th, 2008 at 11:28 am

    Now you see I was thinking along more Christopher Robin lines…he has an Alice and a thing about cracks in the pavement.

    Rate this:
    		3.3
  7. no imageSusan (Who am I?) said,

    on August 16th, 2008 at 4:29 pm

    Love those shoes Alice–and her solidarity with something as annoying as a city pigeon.

    Now I think I’ll be looking twice, when I see a similar character in a city park. I’ll remember this lady.

    Thanks for sharing this!

    Susan’s last post: Buildin’ me an arky arky…

    Rate this:
    		3.5

Post a comment