Ivy

Dark leaved ivy
Where planted it has grown
Bound to You

The first shoots fastened with pink
Tied like a baby to a mother’s breast
Fastened, trained, teased, tormented to follow
Your will

Through the summer coaxed by sunshine
Quenched by rain
It grew too quickly, spread and covered, cloaked
Your direction

And you, the gardener tied me back again
With yellow plastic
The youngest, softest leaves held
To enjoy the last of summer sun
So we could play

Now in preparation
For harsh winter
Prune me ruthlessly

Let your sharpest knife slice away
Remove the youngest, frailest shoots
Remove the old
Remove the misplace growth, the rampant waste
I feel you cutting me, I scream
A song of death for the promise of a life to come

Leave me small but whole
Rooted firmly by your side
Tidy, quiet, neat and strong

When winter snows cover the ground my roots will run
Deeper into the rich soil finding sustenance
I wind them round yours in the dark brown earth
Hidden from sight but growing stronger
Drawing comfort from your presence though I cannot see

At the first sign of spring
I grow and bind myself, enslave myself to you
Stronger now, rooted and firm
My mind and spirit trained to grow as you taught
My body wrapping yours in rich embrace
Bound to you without the need for ties.

Chattel

In the half light of the evening
It moves, draws your eye,
Hidden under rubbish, lost
A time ago

Stop, look closely.
It lives and breathes.
Take it in your hand and
Feel, explore the shape, the softness.
Pinch it, make it respond to your gentle touch,
To your firm command.

Take it.
Undress it, wash it,
Anoint it with oils and lotions
Let it sleep for a while between clean sheets.
Dreams carry the truth into day

Morning bathes the room with sunlight.
She wakes and sees a brave new world.
The mirror shows
A stranger’s face and body.
She weeps in ecstasy, she cannot bear to see the sun,
She fears like Semele to burn to ash.

Help her find herself.
Be cruel, take her beyond the point where
She would rest comfortably
Wrapped in existing self knowledge.

Show her the darkness of her soul
And find her light

Give her tasks
For you?
Correct her when she fails.
She is precious, valued
And willingly enslaved, bound and
Owned

Watch her grow, bound to you by virtual chains,
Stronger than the finest steel.
Chains that set her free

Torment her, leave her
So she aches and pleads for mercy,
For your care.
Return,
She will learn that you were always there.

She is yours, your chattel and your willing slave
Your work has bound you now
You are her Master
Her future under your control.