Josephine

I always loved you Josephine
Eyes as bright as tourmaline
You were the prettiest girl in the room
But made your escape that afternoon
Ascending to the sky in a hot air balloon

I had always meant to meet you that day
At a quarter to two on the tenth of May
A planned rendezvous at the corner cafe
Turns out that due to a tragic delay
You’d later depart in a perilous way

So when I set out to meet my Queen
Franky and Carlo cornered me
They said I had a debt to pay
Then knocked me senseless anyway

You’d waited for your cherished lover
Whilst I lay beaten in the gutter
In a cruel and simple twist of fate
I’d never meant to be that late

All dressed up in satin and pearls
You fell victim to a cruel and twisted world
Had you all churned up and emptied out
Stricken with loneliness fear and doubt

Standing at the entrance to the gates of hell
I guess this time you had a story to tell
But it was never gonna read that well

No-one took note of the state you were in
Hiding out at the star crossed lovers inn
Wearing eyeshadow dust in sharp neon pink
Lined up at the bar for your next drink

Then later, found across the hallway in room twenty three
Floating face down and naked with a picture of me
And clutching a bottle of Hennessy

I guess it was supposed to be
the perfect remedy
To heal your broken heart
But it was doomed right from the start

Josephine my Josephine
You were a brilliant and twinkling work of art
A glistening beacon in a sea of dark

You played all your cards completely wrong
Nothing could’ve prevented this shitstorm
I wish you’d return home to me Josephine
I’d hold you in my arms til morn
And cradle you till the break of dawn

If I’m honest I get why you disappeared
Surrendering yourself into the atmosphere
Yielding your spirit to the morning birdsong
Just to prove that you loved me all along