Josephine

I heard the name Josephine,
It came to me in a dream.
And I don’t usually set too much store by the things
These things might mean.
But it was spoken with seriousness,
More of a whisper than a scream.
So now I’m waiting on some Josephine
To show herself to me.
I could have been anyone I imagined I could be;
I just needed somebody to wake me from my sleep.
I could have been Napoleon, could have been Beethoven,
Could have been anyone but uncomfortable me.
So come on now Josephine, show yourself to me.
Come on now Josephine,
Give me what I need.
I don’t like to be needy but needs must,
I can’t stand being the person that I’ve been.
I’m an impending car crash,
And you’re the first one on the scene.
I’m a defeated commander, I’m a half-deaf composer,
I’m a strange name whispered in a dream.
I could have been anyone I imagined I could be;
I just needed somebody to wake me from my sleep.
I could have been Napoleon, could have been Beethoven,
Could have been anyone but uncomfortable me.
So come on now Josephine, show yourself to me.
Come on now Josephine, let’s pretend it’s Halloween.
You come as a car crash, I’ll go as James Dean.
I’m Napoleon on Elba, and you’re a hundred days in 1815.
I wrote all of these letters to my immortal beloved,
And you’re the only one who’s ever going to know what they mean.
Come on now Josephine, wake me from my sleep.
I could have been anyone, but I ended up being me.
I could have been wide awake, could have been what you need,
I wish that I was anyone except for just me.
So come on now Josephine, show yourself to me.