The Lewis Trap
“The Lewis Trap”
Well, of course he's misanthropic
He’s a Misanthropic Man
The Devil’s in the details
Buried deep under the covers
Of bedtime stories, slithers ‘neath loose sand
A Liddell bit of cake
A Liddell bit of julip
Sweets for a sweet pretty thing
Brings her closer, his lovely little Alice
This trapped butterfly makes his tired flaccid dreams sing
A leering Feline that can be trusted
Hides invisible, comes and goes as he pleases
The Caterpillar offers her his peace pipe
The Smiling Cat, he gently teases
A Liddell bit of cake
A Liddell bit of julip
Time it races, it is fleeting, she is small enough
Before too long, too big with petulant airs and graces
To fit his mind, the House of Cards
And it’s dark spaces, he is clever, he is cunning
He’s hidden everything ‘tween the seams of his pockets
Gold coins jingling sweetners rhyming, he is moving,
the unleashed Serpent’s slithering.
A best seller, he is camouflaged
A shining shooting star, he’s so brilliant
Plots escape route, he’s exonerated
He weaves his story’s sticky web
Unleash a monster, he writes in a Red Herring
He’s elated
He’s not retreating
A Liddell bit of cake
A Liddell bit of julip
Her clothes fall off before celluloid
She is shrunk to his best fit, now’s the time not to avoid
His dire crime, he appraises, now’s the best time to commit
She is complacent, malleable and easy, every Liddell bit-by-bit
Like a Quiet Doormouse
He’s perceived by her Mother as unassuming, empathetic
Sweet and Kind, not one jot a bother
She leaves her Alice and her sisters in his care
Who simply adore all his childhood bedtime stories
He is writing for mankind, to be fair…
She walks off to her engagement, smiles and surmises,
“He’s such a true gentleman, so charming, genuine, kind and rare”.
A Liddell bit of cake
A Liddell bit of julip
How should he erase this evil mess he’s cruelly stripped, conscripted for inscription
Return her back to normal
Return the stolen prize he’s taken
Cheshire creates a worthy monster, for young Alice to embowel
Right before his very sorry wondering eyes, he can’t contain his thrill
a sweet to swallow greedily she's all his, his delicious secret bitter pill
All that glitters is not Gold
A story of a Mad Hero, one that walks by her side he unfolds
There is a monster in everyone
He laughs and then he cries
The Secret of this matter, oh what fun!
He turns, then he denies
He now is the Mad Hatter
A Liddell bit of cake
A Liddell bit of julip
Eventually his misdemeanour will be uncovered
There are strict laws for his mistakes
He gives birth the romping Jabberwocky
Needs to kill it just the same
Give her back all the glory
Take away all her loss and all her pain
He places his Sword of Truth within her Liddell hands
To plunge deep within the Monster’s heart
Cut the hair from Samson’s mane.
A Liddell bit of cake
A Liddell bit of julip
A story of Great Love
What better could there be?
Make her fall into the arms of the much loved, misunderstood Mad Hatter, that is he?
Not the Cat who purrs watching over her, invisible in dark green trees –
“’Tis Done!”, he thinks
He’s saved from villainy
A Liddell bit of cake
A Liddell bit of julip
She sits at a Tea Party in the Autumn of Her Years
He is dead and buried, there are no more bitter tears
She looks to God in her Blue Sky
A hint of Love’s reflection in her tired cold dead eyes
A Liddell bit of cake
A Liddell bit of julip
Maturing, now it’s her Winter Season if you please
She turns the pages, buries The White Rabbit and his blasted fob marking time
Closes Chapters, turns the dry and papery leaves,
She thinks it is all a bit too late for revenge in a good rhyme
Sits down at her table with her feeble hands
A Liddell bit of cake
A Liddell bit of julip
Closes her eyes slowly, final sleep, walks through The Gate
Last sigh is very deep
Purring invisible in the Trees
Cheshire's watching her, he smiles and then agrees.
(Lovejoy-Burton/March 2018)
for the 3 Liddell Sisters
& any other child with a Lewis in their life
“And hast thou slain the Jabberwock?
Come to my arms, my beamish boy!
O frabjous day! Callooh! Callay!”
He chortled in his joy. “
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