Don't Fuck With The Lady of Pain

In the spring of 2024, I had horrific nightmares for three days in a row. Nobody noticed that I was delirious from lack of sleep, when I sent some nonsense direct-messages to someone that I'd never met before. I ended up in a stress spiral, with a year and a half of treatment. Guess which type of social group, and why I'd just read about this Lady. :|

Disclaimer

I am not affiliated with any companies that own trademarks or copyrights, for any fictional character(s) or other things mentioned in this poem of mine. I in good faith believe that this constitutes Fair Dealing in Canada, or Fair Use in the USA since it is only very brief references in a creative work, not for profit, and does not compete with the original material or objects.

The Poem

This poem is a rough transcript of the nightmares I had. At the worst of it, I didn't know if I was alive or dead, imaginary or real, or if time went forwards or backwards. I'm still fixing my PTSD... Don't Fuck With The Lady of Pain


A normal day, ending a normal way.
You awaken in a dark labyrinth.
Friends pass you by in both directions.
You ask for help and they say, "We're saving ourselves!"
A shuffling sound sneaks behind you.
You're eaten by demon hounds,

Again in the labyrinth,
This time alone, and even darker.
A groove in the wall is something to follow.
In it flows a red light.
You reach the center and open a hatch.
The Lady of Pain slashes you in half.

Again in the labyrinth,
But gravity's upside-down.
You're on the ceiling, friends on the floor.
You finally find an exit.
...And float off into outer space.

Suffocated, you can finally die.
An end to your pain.
But the Lady says otherwise.
You burn up in atmosphere, a skeleton.
Helpless, you watch empires go by -
Happiness, sadness, grief, war -
You alone for evermore.

Eventually your bones disintegrate.
Blackness finally takes you,
What is void but a clean slate?
The nothingness fluctuates,
A heartbeat of pure chaos.

Count from zero to one,
Then up through set theory,
Up to infinite infinites.
Countless worlds and universes,
With countless other yous,
Primed and ready to suffer.

You thought reverse gravity was tough?
Try leftward non-gravity.
Try 2D gravity, 5D time, and 6D space.
Uncountably many yous, all out of place.
Tumbling and tossed countlessly endless ways.

That must be it - your one chance of escape.
Countless yous and countless worlds,
Means surely at least one of you is a god.
They hear your call and gently act,
And place you down somewhat intact.
You thank them profusely and prostrate.
The Lady bursts out of their chest to obliterate.

Another you tries to invent instead,
Ships, portals and time-machines.
All prototypes fail or explode.
All but one.
You finally get to a safe place.
Good enough.
You'll build a new life from scratch.
Paying for coffee, the waitress is nice.
Until she turns into the Lady of Dice.

Now you're a worm eating shit -
You'll happily get used to it.
The Lady shows up again -
You can't be allowed happiness.
You're sent through the bodies of all your descendants,
Living, dying, in fractal worlds.
Brief glimpses of friends and family
Are there to keep you chasing universes.

Spinning and dazed, lost and confused,
Friends and family tell you to shut up.
The screaming is a siren call leading the Lady to you.
A loud conga line will hide you for now.
Just cover your mouth, and bite your tongue.
Through a painting here, and a doorway there.
Pictures and portals, ways to escape.
Fuck up a few times, and do it again.

A Lost Weekend, but no fucking beers.
Dog shit and piss because she's low in years.
Time to clean up.
Time to train.
Time to reboot your own fucking brain.

Thanks for reading! :)