At the cold stroke of midnight
When the moon is on fire
Bettie’s clown dance
Drives me mad with desire.
A circus is performed
In a somnolent space
A toy clown comes to life
Madness masking its face.
A pale living statue
Steps into the light,
Shadows falling from her
As the flashbulbs ignite.
At the cold stroke of midnight
When the moon is on fire
Bettie’s clown dance
Drives me mad with desire.
The mannequins dance
To the camera’s whine
And she moves among them
The clown’s concubine.
Time is suspended
In a sinister spell
And what happens in the darkness
No one can tell.
At one after midnight
The circus is eclipsed
And all but the woman
Cease to exist.

This poem is about Bettie Page, a pin-up model who became famous in the 1950s. Variously known as the ‘Queen of Curves’, the ‘Dark Angel’ and the ‘Tease from Tennessee’, Bettie is known for her famous hairstyle, the distinctive bangs that have been widely imitated ever since. The hairstyle gave Bettie Page a dark mystique, positioning her as the shadowy counterpart to the sun-kissed glamour of Marilyn Monroe. During her work with Irving Klaw, Bettie appeared in a bizarre short film entitled ‘Bettie’s Clown Dance.’ -Micheal Johnson