Peter all in blue
flies from Mr. McGregor
drops one shoe in cabbage

and forfeits his jacket
slipping under the gate.
My hero outwits this farmer.

In my story
Peter finds me
with a pink suitcase.

But don’t mistake us
no Alice and Mad Hatter
no Grace and White Rabbit.

We’re Chella and Peter
in a wood at dusk
far from family noise.

He tells me his grandfather
sacrificed his own tail
to save Otter.

I confess
my father shoots otter
and bruises me.

I say
some pain is worse
than dying.

Peter takes my hand
under the harvest moon
and stars float downstream.

—

Chella Courington is the author of three poetry and three flash fiction chapbooks. Her poetry and stories appear in numerous anthologies and journals including SmokeLong Quarterly, Nano Fiction, and The Collagist. Her recent novella, The Somewhat Sad Tale of the Pitcher and the Crow, is available at Amazon.