A man brought
a Mockingbird
home from the park
It perched on
his mantle
from morning till dark
It chirped
the same song
again and again
To wake the
house up
at seven a.m.
A cat was
brought home
one day as a pet
To keep down
the mice
it hunted as pests
The Mockingbird sang
as the cat
plied its trade
Till one fateful
morning
knocking over its cage
And out flew
the songbird
away from its pen
To never
be seen
— or heard from again
(Rhymes From The Nursery: May, 2026)
Beware the Cheshire cat
whose advice is here or there
and says there are just two paths -
again I say beware.
Carroll had it right
as he wrote behind that grin:
Alice could also stay put
or go back to her begin.
She ate the cake to grow big
and drank potion to be small,
yet there was always the third way -
not to eat or drink at all.
Beyond the looking glass
and down the rabbit hole,
a heartless queen asks questions -
any answer and heads roll.
Watch out for false dichotomy
and the choice that does not matter
or you’ll be writing on a raven's desk
to answer the Mad Hatter.
(07/2023) See Chapter 6 of ‘Alice’s Adventures in Wonderland’ by Lewis Carroll.
Love sinks low,singing-
A duet between drowning hearts.
Her smile is the last breath before the tar closes in.
I play my guitar till the strings blisters,
Till the bubbles stop breaking the surface.
Still,the Cheshire Cat keeps playing,
Because silence is the deepest pit of all.
Cyril Ramaphosa
his voice box sometimes goes hoars-a
swallowed a Cheshire Cat, great white smile
running miles keeping da Amerikanos on the dial
A hammock that swings
on the bright sparkle of stars;
The Moon in cheshire.
Prose and its narrative
the lazy alternative
Words most abundant
meaning defined
Declarative function
it reads codependent
As poets but smile
— with language refined
(Saint David’s Pennsylvania: May, 2024)
It’s such a bother to stop for a chat
to talk to the naughty Cheshire cat;
He’s so fond of watching this mischief
disappearing eyes attest to that;
His ball of crazy? Beyond belief;
Forward just marches backward in time,
the play thing of a giggling thief;
In your eyes he squeezes sour lime;
Better to keep a distance then pause;
You could get lost in a bed of rhyme,
fueling a Cheshire cat’s naughty clause.
Recognize your own true face
Not the one others see
Nor the one a mirror shows.
See the face visible only without eyes
The one you have always had
Which never changes.
This face is the one looking at you now
The one that is always looking
With piercing equanimity beyond acceptance and rejection.
Once you recognize it
There is nothing else to do
As life continues to unfold as it always has.
But you are changed
By the light of the wisdom
That the you you think your face sees does not exist.
What’s that your true face shows?
A Cheshire smile
Dissolving slowly into space…
(10/28/23)
much like her namesake
bit by bit she disappears
into the shadows
For: Black Cat Haiku Poetry Contest
Sponsor: Robert James Liguori
April 6, 2022
Is the Mad Hatter the only one who can be mad then?
I glared at Alice; is she so obtuse, she does not recognize her truth?
What is it? She asks me, concerned.
I am the Queen of Hearts and likely to lop her head off if I take a notion.
Frankly I doubt now there would be anything worthwhile in her head.
Tweedledee Dee and Tweedledee Dumb have stopped eating.
Empaths, they feel my wrath, so they gather up the cookies and go.
What about the sandwiches? Don’t you want them? Asks Cheshire.
Cheshire is a trouble maker; this is why I like him.
I watch his smirking grin disappear and reappear.
I could use you as a night light I think. Crumb! There is the stupid rabbit.
The one that brought that human down here in the first place.
I send my henchmen to bring back his head.
The Red of Diamonds is as dumb as the Ten of Spades.
They bring back Cinderella’s crystal slipper.
Wrong story you idiots!
they called her the crazy cat lady
for so many obvious reasons
calm and poised she hummed and purred
she would sit and pose the whole day long
had nothing better to do with her time
than keep her cats amused and entertained
a herd of cats nudging her climbing her
her pockets filled with treats and catnip
the lady with the smile of a cheshire cat
AP: Honorable Mention 2020
this poem will give you something to do while in lockdown check thier fate
If I must die, may it be quick
unlike Kenneth Pinyan's death.
in my sleep would be fine
or like George Plantagenet
who drowned in wine.
with my loved one at my side
or while watching tele with Alex Mitchell
or seeing manchester united win the league
but not like Dick Wertheim, oh ouch you may declare
or better still while making love
unlike João Maria de Souza dreadful fate
but no matter which way I leave this realm
may my ashs, my home county cheshire retain.
They call me the Cheshire Cat, that's my name.
A creation straight out of Lewis Carroll's brain.
I live in a in land of wonder you see,
and store plenty of tricks up my sleeve.
I'm a feline that can grin from ear to ear.
I can also make parts of my body disappear.
I am in love with irony and all its complications.
I adore philosophy and erratic explanations.
Speaking in metaphors, that's my intricate specialty.
I'm not insane, I just live in a different reality.
A reality that fulfills my immortal amusement.
A world where I demonstrate my brash imprudence.
Wonderland's espionage is a good title for me,
eavesdropping on all there is, nestled in my tree.
SHHHHH! I see a young girl approaching, she is coming closer.
She looks alone and lost ......I wonder??
Curiosity can't kill this cat or make me fall
I am a bit mad, I dare say, but aren't we all.
Feelings and emotions are so complex
How can I be so sure of something one day
And so insecure the next
A missed kiss goodbye in the morning
Surely means nothing
Yet my mind wonders
Are we growing apart?
One can never be inside another’s mind
And that’s where trust comes into play
But do others feel this way
Are they really just that secure
Or could they be blind or unaware
And then suddenly hurt
To find that someone doesn’t care
Is there something behind that Cheshire grin?
I should just dispel these thoughts
I’m sure it’s just the mood I’m in
An arbitrary woman on the street
Going the opposite way. Her amber eyes
Meet mine as she approaches
Bright and penetrating
We smile as we ...
Uniformly glance at each other
No words exchanged between us
As she walks past me, into oblivion...
She's a beautiful woman with a giraffesque grace
Alas! She'll forever remain a mystery
And we'll never cross paths again
Though I'll always remember...
Her cheshire cat smile!
Date written: 03/28/2016
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