Alice In Corporateland

Alice no longer has to wander
through a looking glass
to check out Cheshire cats,
all shiny furred and sleek
with well filed claws
such flawless smiles
and eyes that prey upon
victims yet unseen
while still digesting
on their pawns
sacrificed upon the table
of a heartless Queen
atop looking glass towers
where all the clubs are exclusive
and the breathtaking views
go for thousands of miles.
.

M Hatter in marketing still does teas
with focus groupies on his knees
but now inspired guesses
scuttle back beneath
imagination’s tresses
giving way to science
interrogated, quantified and engineered
in full house suites
of diamonds steeped in blood,
And polished for their views
On Foxtel News.

Alice eventually stayed
Doing awfully-Important-Work
for White Rabbit solutions,
down labyrinthine burrows
at Wonderland Inc
designing algorithms and reality syncs
for the spades in suits
Who carry guns they like to shoot
‘cos all their cards are bulletproof
And though the maths is good
the calculations stink.

The only dissonance to be found
is the whining doggerel whimsey hound
that occasionally embarrasses guests
by pissing from pots to the clash of spoons
and restless rattle of half full cups
who've heard it all before
but only recall the suck and lap
of pursing lips
not what they said
nor the howling lament
of tea gone cold
forgotten in the rush of feet
to make it past the golden door
before it forever shuts
the last remaining trading floor
on the last remaining chequered board
where all the pieces must be sold
and the king will do as he is told.