Lady Joan was once a vision. But now she’s make believe. She is weak in the blink of an eye. A spotlight on an empty stage. Lady Joan is fading. She was once a vision of loveliness, but she’s going under, going gone. Her lights are out, her curtains drawn. Lady Joan sleeps protected by thorns. Daddy’s coming from down the hall. Again and again and again. Daddy ain’t knocking. He slips silently in. Again and again and again. She feels him now, like she felt him then. Again and again and again. Medication for sedation. She curls up in a ball. I hope she’s safe and sound. Locked deep in her underground, safe behind her soundproof walls. Her longest days aren’t over, yet they’ve only just begun. Lady Joan’s become a prop. A toy collecting dust. Sitting alone, weaving herself into fiction. Daddy’s coming from down the hall. Again and again and again. Daddy ain’t knocking. He slips silently in. Again and again and again. She feels him now, like she felt him then. Again and again and again. She wants to come back. She wants to breathe. She’s searching for something that’s concrete in her head. She wants to come back. She wants to breathe. She’s searching for something that’s concrete in her head. She was once a vision. But now she’s make believe. Going under. Going gone. Her lights are out. Her curtains drawn. Lady Joan waltzes in moments of sorrow. In a childhood mirror. She looks in and sees her past. Once the fairest flower. She sees the petals that he scattered. Daddy loved her. He loved her, not.

words by j. wilson

Between Heaven and Hell bred deception. Between Heaven and Hell rose a queen. Between Heaven and Hell, they named her the Queen of Joy and Despair. She rules with a smile that she paints on her face. A smile drawn from ear to ear. She rules from her code book of distance. She rules us with smoke and with mirrors. Her fingers she keeps crossed double time. White knuckled for sweet, sweet revenge. The Queen of Denial, the queen and her smile, the queen must be losing her mind. Lady O’ lady, so charming. Lady O’ sweeter than life. Lady O’ breaker of spirits. Lady O’ stabber of backs. Between Heaven and Hell, bred deception. Between Heaven and Hell rose a queen. Between Heaven and Hell, they named her the Queen of Joy and Despair. Don’t think you can soothe her seething. Her warpath, her vengeance. Her rage. She masks it with love and affection. What a marvelous web she doth weave. She is fleshy and soft, just like a painting. She’s bursting like a big red balloon. She’s full of hot air, just like a dragon. She lays herself on ice to keep cool. Lady O’ lady, so charming. Lady O’ sweeter than life. Lady O’ breaker of spirits. Lady O’ stabber of backs. Lady O’ lady come and cross me. Lady for old time’s sake. Lady O’ lady so charming. Lady, I want you to know. The Queen of Denial is laughing. But it is only a brilliant disguise. The Queen of Denial is losing her grip. And it really turns me on.