give homage to our mistress
of scars, of the night,
of the pain.
yes, let's do this once again.

keep her talents of
fading everything to gray
somewhere in our
constant memory.

Watch the river on the bathroom floor
crest at the delta of the bathtub.
tonight, the river is red-
dimly lit under the black lace sky.
(let her help you fly)

in our hands, the keys
to the tears.
to turn the painful into nothing
to set ourselves free.

come, give tribute, once more
to our cutting, biting whore.

let her lips kiss me. explore me.
my grimace will hide the joy.
this is not a cure for any thing-
this is a cure for my nothings-
this is a painkiller of the worst kind-
there to shroud the pain
ever present in my mind.

i need your altar for tribute
this mecca is the scar covered
by a foul intention that
i have trained myself not to notice.

my grin through the tears.
the cold tiles
and my body crushed into a ball.
and the stains i leave
will remind me of better times
and force me to smile.

let's pay homage to the queen.
she governs my body
she, the pain.
let us embrace her again.

02/14/2003

Author's Note: my version of maggie l. hall's 'lets pay tribute to lady pain'

Posted on 02/14/2003
Copyright © 2025 Andrew S Adams