UNWRAPPING THE PAPER THEATRE OF THE MIND

unwrapping the paper theatre of the mind
see the gold of stardust sifting past
the foiled huntsmen in the distance...

the backyard roses heaped up on the stage
let you know the end of something shines-
but you are too entranced to move
when no wind stirs the whirring pinwheels

and the dolls can't tear their marbly eyes away
from the cardboard angel flittering

in a tiny pink spotlight.
let the colored filters turn their
candied cellophane light,

rickety, on a
single crystal slipper-
though the paper candelabrum blaze

in medias res...
the razzle-dazzled mouse runs down
the semblance of a chime-

it's time to go.
and you can feel
faery music from the battlements

begin, this time, for real-

mary angela douglas 3 february 2011