She is beautiful

Is the muse tattoo'd?

She is beautiful

But she struggles

To find the time to breathe

Dressed in all the shadows

Of a distant make-believe

Listen

And you can hear

A mandolin

Try to hide her scream

In her reflection

A smudged and torrid

Harlot

Pincushion to a world

Succumbed to a vision

In alabaster white

Dance steps

Across

The checked floor

Mirrors

She wants to hide it all

Slick guitar licks

Unbutton and gyrate

Unfocussed attention

She keeps bleeding

In love

In the dark

In the speckled light of the mirror ball

As her skin

Is tattoo’d in a dapple light

Of hearts

All the one dollar bills

Serenade

And drink in the ambiance

Of a stained carpet

And liquid loves

Resonate

For a twenty minute fantasy

Riding on her dreams

While they walk out the door

Invisible

To the beauty

That lies within

And smudges

Her lipstick on their collars

Blended with her perfume

As her spirit bleeds

She is beautiful