Upon a bed of nails

my skin torn and ripped

leather bites my flesh

and I am bound.

I am bound not by the ties that hold me

but by the ties I have within.

My heart has become the whip

my sex has become the chains

you have become my violator

and you have become my lover

and you have become my soul.

The leather kisses my skin

my eyes close

and my body arches away from the pain.

I dread each stroke and long for it.

What I feel is acute.

It is love.

A pleasure/pain cocktail

mixed for my delight.

I am drunk on it,

drunk on the feeling that you give me.

The room spins

my heart pounds

I am falling.

I wonder if you will catch me?

Your hand is gentle and cruel.

Your smack has become a caress

and I know that I am in bondage.

A bondage of my own choosing

a bondage that I desire

and I finally understand

it was from being bound

that I was truly set free.

(c) Kate Edwards 06-27-01