Intro to Children's Lit

Hudson Review, The, Autumn 2002 by Vinz, Mark

Alice's strange world had nothing on mine

the Queen of Hearts a maiden aunt who drank,

Mad Hatter parties every day at school,

what must have been an evil sorcerer

who conjured clouds of fire and ash at church,

and even a wicked witch-the grandma

who could blink me into a frog at will.

I kept hoping I'd be a prince one day

but somehow knew I'd never make it up

Rapunzel's golden hair-or even find it.

Lost in the woods I prayed for magic spells,

a godmother, or luck like Jack's. No use,

in all my beanstalk dreams, something immense

was smelling my blood, gaining ground each night.