Blame Alice, her docile
attention, hand trailing in
murky dream waters.

Circumference emptied of heads,
bowl of darkness folded in satin
where thoughts will go—grand,
obscene, secret, stubborn.
Forgiving. Hatters and their
felt domes, with feathers stuck
like arrows. They obscure
a woman’s eyes with netting,
so that she may not see
the ordinary places.

The brain, do they consider that?
Sponge of knowledge, holding
humanity’s treasure in
fleeting synapses. What do
hatters know of truth,
pulling and shaping and
knotting, a simple commerce,
act of adornment.

…

Ulrica Hume is the author of An Uncertain Age, a spiritual mystery novel, and House of Miracles, a collection of stories, one of which was selected by PEN and broadcast on NPR. Her work appears online (EcoTheo, Tiny Molecules, Short Édition, etc.), in literary journals (Firmament), and in anthologies (Choice Words). She tweets @uhume.