Once upon a time,

Alice looked through the looking glass.

A casual glance,

Just a momentary peek,

And they say she saw a world of wonder.

A world of magic,

With explosions of color,

And an endless expression of beauty;

Simply an unattainable enchantment.

Untouchable,

Impossible,

Yet, right under your nose.

Opening up a world of unimaginable visions of grandeur.

Alice may no longer be looking through that looking glass,

But the magic isn’t lost.

Walking carefully towards the portal,

I can feel my heart hammer.

Stepping into a world that I could have never possibly imagined.

Societal screams had scared me away,

But, Alice found the secret,

Why couldn’t I?

Building courage in every tip-toe,

The very edge of that glass catches a visage.

Suddenly, the fire burning the soles of my sneakers melts to ice,

Forcing my body to glide closer,

Curiosity pulling my whole person forward,

Until we’re face to face.

Suddenly,

I’m facing the glittering grin of the Cheshire Cat,

Falling into the aroma of those glittering flower petals,

And following the white rabbit along the terrain under the brightening sun.

An imperfect place,

Yet perfect in its own individual way.

Pulling my body ever closer,

Making me squint to get a better look.

Two pools of light blue oceans open up around the white snow,

And a graceful mountain plunging right between the two.

A unique beauty.

Blinking in hindsight,

I finally found the source of Alice’s magic.

Wonderland was never a place of imagination,

But a place that lived within every single one of us.

From every curve of our faces,

To every small detail,

Wonderland lived in our reflections,

Battling the Jabberwocky lurking in the trees, threatening to make us blind,

Brandishing its sword to strike him senseless,

Allowing those gates to finally open.

For the Jabberwocky created flaws,

To challenge the land,

But, with care, I struck it down,

And finally learned Alice’s best-kept secret.

They may have called her mad,

But all the best people are.

Wonderland is flawless,

Ever changing,

And beautiful.