Fall Down Alice
***
The rabbit with pink eyes is
calling you now, away from the dingy
ol’ gutter, the crowd, from the ticking,
the chores and the grayer of things,
from your dimes and your diamonds, from
have to’s and needings, to wander
a night, into something so dark
and so deep you might think
you don’t know where you are… did you
drive? No, you followed the rabbit and
fell, where he went with his pocket-watch
I’ll never tell…
Down, down, down, you will go…
It’s a dream and a show!
Come now, take a sly bite or a small
little sip, eat me, drink me, you shrink,
you grow gorgeously big. Let’s all
run in a circle, and eat tiny cakes
hear the music and see all the flowers
and shapes, let our story take over,
as you take your tea and the mad hatter’s
riddle echoes in our frenzy. We dance
til the queen stands up with her face
red and she turns to us all and says
“OFF WITH THEIR HEADS!”
Let’s sing “Beautiful Soup” and
play games with the gryphon
surrounded by creatures incredibly
vivid, with big eyes and ears and
with smiles so wide you’ll see
galaxies in them and tumble inside.
Play a game of croquet with the king
of the hearts, you can play with the
queen, but you can’t steal her tarts.
Let us smoke with the blue caterpillar
and dance with our limbs changing
size in kaleidoscope trance. Take
a stroll through our garden, our
Refuge, and see what a whimsical
wonderland Portland can be…
Oh the Cheshire cat’s King-unsettling grin
will expand and contort in the radiant din,
a transfiguring smile makes pleasures unreal,
unless you can recapture your power and
kneel to the creatures unknown and
the mystical presence. And watch Alice, fall down
with the wide eyes of innocence
into the rabbit hole, sealing her youth
come fall down with our rabbit, discover your truth.
Down the Rabbit Hole, hosted at Refuge by Living Prism Productions, and created by my friend Dar Sernoff was an incredible night of musicians, dj’s, performers, dancers, jugglers, and artists, all working around an Alice and Wonderland theme. I could not have been more pleased with how it turned out. Around a thousand people attended, I went with a great friend from PCSL, who had never been to a Living Prism event before (all of which are incredible) and I danced for hours upon hours.
It was also a big step for me creatively, as I wrote a poem to honor the theme and also collaborated with my friend Dan Peccia to contribute some coaster pottery to the Mad Hatter’s Tea Party at the event. The pottery project as well as the poem were new territory for me, as I had never endeavored toward either such thing before with the intention of creating something for a specific event, purpose, and theme completely outside of my own body of work. It was a ton of fun and a huge opportunity for creative growth. This poem was inspired by Lewis Carroll’s Adventures in Wonderland/Through the Looking Glass. The photos are of the pottery and event. Cheers!
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