Vera, the Slightly Mad Penguin, Mid-Air, Wearing Lipstick

She launched herself before asking how to land.

Is this flying? Maybe.
Is that lipstick? Definitely.

“And I, who put on lipstick to my beak today...”

Vera doesn’t really understand this world –
not with its jellyfish-flowers, neon weeds and suspiciously bright skies.

But she’s here, upside down and wide awake,
wondering whether she fell asleep watching Teletubbies,
or if this is just another Tuesday in her brain.