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Artwork: The Wild Musician by Will Jacques

Wild Goblin Moon
David Sandner

One night gazing out my window
At a full and yellow moon,
I heard music from the fireplace—
A haunted, broken tune.

Looking up the chimney
I found, to my surprise,
Gaggles of goblins staring down
With yellow moonglow eyes.

They laughed and clapped their hands,
Knocking soot into my eyes,
Reaching down with goblin arms
To pull me up behind!

The last I remember is the first thing I saw
When at last again I could see:
The full moon staring like a goblin eye
And the goblins dancing in threes.

I think I danced a whirling dance with them
Beneath their wild moon—
And drank the sweet dark night away
Until I fell back in my room

For when I awoke, I was alone
In my cold and empty room
But laughing through the window
Shone a wild goblin moon!

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Counter Clockwise Sideways Down (4am in Wonderland)
David Sandner

Widdershins, widdershins
Turn about, fall down
Underground

The vampires hunt the streets
But they can’t see you pass through mirrors
Into wonderland tonight

Falling, 4am, sleepless
Smoke in your eyes, head in your hands
What were you thinking? (Will you ever know?)

Something deeply strange
Waits for you to step in the holes
Behind your eyes

Counter clockwise, sideways down
Plunging like a knife
Into the wet and sticky dark

Something smears your vision like oily rain
on a windshield. Or blood,
you think, but will not roll down your window to find out

Where are you going? You can’t hide
Something chills your bones
Writes your name in fogged glass

Your true name, in reverse
just before the wiper blade strikes
strikes, strikes

You’re dying but
Don’t look back to see
what follows close (there are worse things)

Counter clockwise sideways down
Stagger round, fall down
Six feet underground

4am in wonderland, and I know
Says the Cat, licking the blood from your wounds,
Why you’re going to die

When the Red Queen calls a name
You no longer know is yours
Blood red will run your dream

4am in Wonderland
You’re just a pack of cigarettes
And when the Red King wakes

You will fall sideways
Like cards dropped from a careless hand
Forgotten, boot-printed

Ground under by pitiless wonder rushing up
Like the bottom of a canyon
Or a car drifting head on from the opposite lane

Spin counter clockwise (one last time for everything)
Land sideways and wake to nightmare:
It’s 4am in Wonderland

The adventure just begins
And there’s a small red door
And a key that turns like a knife in your belly

And you’re so tired
But the only thing to eat is poison, and the only thing to drink
Is poison, and the only thing to dream is poison, too.

Widdershins, widdershins (you spin in your grave)
Counter clockwise, sideways down
Fall far below the Underground


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