She had him bound, his wrists tied firmly above his head, the muscles in his arms taut against the straps that secured him to the headboard. His body was hers now—open, vulnerable, utterly surrendered to her movements. She straddled him, her thighs gripping his hips, her hands resting on his chest as she leaned forward, her hair falling in waves around her face.

The straps gave her control, gave her the structure she craved, but tonight they were more than that. They were a bridge—a way to step into a space she hadn’t allowed herself to fully explore before. As she moved, her hips rolling against him, her body slick with sweat and arousal, she felt something shift deep within her. This wasn’t just a game. This was her, stripped bare of everything but the purity of the moment, the intensity of the connection, the holiness of her pleasure.

He looked up at her, his eyes dark with desire, his lips parted as he let out a soft groan. She could feel him throbbing inside her, the heat of him filling her with every ****** of her hips. She moved faster now, her breath coming in shallow gasps, her nails digging into his chest as she worked herself closer to the edge. The straps gave her control, but it was the look in his eyes—the way he saw her, accepted her, worshipped her—that truly set her free.

And then, she felt it—a hand, strong and steady, pressing against the small of her back. It wasn’t his. It was another presence in the room, unseen but deeply felt, grounding her, guiding her movements, reminding her that she wasn’t alone. The touch wasn’t invasive or controlling. It was affirming, supportive, a quiet reassurance that she was safe, that she was whole, that she was loved.

The hand moved up her spine, tracing the line of her body, its touch sending shivers through her. She arched her back, her ******* hardening as she felt the sweat and wetness mingling on her skin. The presence pressed her down onto him, urging her to take him deeper, harder, as if to remind her that she was worthy of everything she was feeling.

Her moans grew louder, her body trembling as she rode him, her thighs burning with the effort, her hips grinding in perfect rhythm. She could feel the tension building inside her, the heat pooling low in her belly, her entire body reaching toward the release she craved. The presence didn’t waver, its hands steadying her, encouraging her, whispering without words that she was enough, that she was beautiful, that she was free.

When her ****** came, it was like a flood, her body convulsing as she cried out, her release gushing over him, soaking the sheets beneath them. It was as if every ****** was a cleansing, a baptism in the purity of her own pleasure, each wave washing away the shame and fear she had carried for so long. She felt the straps on his wrists, the ones she had placed there, but they no longer represented control. They were a symbol of trust, of safety, of the sacred space they had created together.

And still, she moved. Her body didn’t stop, couldn’t stop, as she rode the high of her release into another, and another, her cries turning to moans, her moans to whispers, her whispers to silence as she let herself be carried away by the intensity of it all. She lost count of her *******—four, five, seven, ten—all blending together into one endless moment of pleasure and connection.

The presence stayed with her, its hands on her hips, her back, her shoulders, guiding her, grounding her, reminding her that she was seen, that she was loved, that she was perfect. It was as if the very act of her pleasure had become holy, her body a vessel of purity, her release a sacrament. She felt no shame, no fear, only the pure, unfiltered joy of being exactly who she was.

When she finally collapsed onto his chest, her body spent, her breath heavy, the presence lingered for a moment longer, its hands soothing her, its energy wrapping around her like a warm embrace. And as she drifted off to sleep, her head resting against him, she knew that this was more than just a moment. This was her truth, her freedom, her holiness.

The straps that bound him had set her free

I don’t think there’s a God except
  I’ve sometimes felt Transcendence.

I might believe in God except
  When we’re alone, we’re wired to project,

To think that someone’s over there
  Somewhere that we can’t see. Except:

We don’t see sound and we don’t hear light
  However loud, however bright,
 
So maybe it’s perception,
  Not projection,

One more connection,
   Outside of space and time,

One more direction,
  At right angles to the rest.

And when we turn down light and sound,
  And wait with no one else around,

Then reach out with a quiet mind,
  Perhaps it’s really God we find.

A-walking through a burial ground
as autumn’s bleak winds buffet me,
I hear plainchant that makes no sound
come from a church behind bare trees.

As I wade through seas of fallen leaves
that blanket tombs of fallen folk,
the whitewashed church’s lichened eaves
are loosely draped like a priestly cope.

Behind the church’s wooden door
comes silence sounding out a song.
Its words unsaid, no rigid score,
to the whirlwind this primal hymn belongs.

Well fortified by thick stone walls
a-quarried from the craggy heart
of this carved earth’s basalt halls,
this house still plays its sacred harp.

For though someday the sun will rise
above this temple’s gaping ruin,
its oaken rafters open to the skies,
there will go on the formless tune

whose notes compose creation’s tale
that’s told unwritten in lettered fire.
In my lungs I breathe the words
to join someday the hidden choir.

With that, this door did not lead inside
that bastion built for worshipping.
Her song instead had opened wide
my spirit for all this life will bring.

From afar, it appeared so small,
So small, in fact, that I could not make out any details.
With every step, a new detail emerged,
With every breath, new energy converged.

A stone’s trip disrupted my journey
Towards the mountain.

Anger forced me to my knees,
My muscles atrophied,
The coming winds resisted my actions.
Lightning struck close to me,
The thick morning fog blinded me,
My nights were restless and full of terrors.

Time passed regardless of action
During the journey
Towards the mountain.

Failure was certain either way:
To fail while trying or to not move further.
Yet with every step, power returned.
The lightning illuminated the path,
The fog sharpened dull focus,
Restful nights restored lost intuition.

Certainty returned on the journey
Towards the mountain.

At the apex,
The starting point seemed so small—
So small, in fact, that I could not make out any details.
With a thought, every detail emerged.

The clock exhales a trembling breath,
its pulse a shiver in the spine of time.
I wait,
unmoored in the ebb of minutes,
where silence holds the marrow of the night
and shadows braid themselves with longing.

The moon hangs, not as a goddess,
but as a seamstress,
stitching the veil of night with frayed intentions.
Each star—a pinprick in the fabric,
leaking a light too distant to warm.

I have heard the hymn of the ivy,
creeping on stone,
its whisper a litany of slow conquests,
its green, a defiance of winter’s gray.
And I wonder—
who will sing for me when my roots no longer hold?

Beneath my skin, rivers stall.
What was once a tempest
is now the measured drip
of something no longer daring to spill.
There is a violence in stillness,
in the way silence sharpens itself against my thoughts.

But let me tell you—
in the shadow of this unraveling,
I have made my peace
with the slow decay of mirrors,
with the fracturing of names.
The sparrow need not call itself a sparrow
to fly.

And when the end comes—
(oh, it is coming)
it will not be the roar of oceans folding into themselves,
nor the shattering of celestial harps.
It will be the sound
of a match extinguished in water,
the faint hiss
of something small,
forgotten,
forever.

Is there a solace for words?
A place to be, asides a page
A space to be, asides a line
Tell me, is there more for words?
Asides the guile of being spoken
Or is speech all there is,
For an art form so golden.

Is there a haven for thoughts?
Like souls, it seeks solace
A page, like flesh, holds it bound
And speech, like death, sets it free
is there more for words,
Asides that which eyes can see
is memory a grave,
And thoughts a curious dig.

Where do read poems go?
The heart, the ears or the soul?
If all there is for a poem is reading,
and all there is for a soul is living,
Where do dead poets go?
The hearth, the ether or a stow?

The village church was built to last.
It would stand until Judgement Day.
Its oak rafters would hold the roof fast
above the faithful who there prayed.

The grey stone is carved with inscriptions
of verses of scripture from Father God
who would grant the faithful benedictions
as they knelt on stone flagstones in awe.

The faithful had built for generations
and for generations still to exalt:
A gold, stone, and mortar salvation
rising up to a heavenward vault.

The stone walls were decorated, gilded,
lined with the lives of the saints
whose blessings had once gently lilted
out of the colorful daubs of paint.

The saints’ faces long faded away
and the statues have hair of green moss
while a few arches still try to stay
up like stone ribs of a body now lost.

The vault now lies open and broken
with a clear view to the old God above
and its grassy shell is now a mere token
of this cathedral built to love.

The broken flagstones are now a green mat
and the nave is barren. Its grey pall
belies the colors in abundance it once had.
There’s no more shine of gold at all.

Yet the grass that grows there is still blessed
by the faithful in ground hallowed below.
I’m touched by their hushed songs still sung, caressed
by soft breath of holy wind which there flows.

Cold walls rise up and ring around
and close in to keep at bay.
Blow off the roof with a thunderclap sound,
then soar off and fly away.

Salt in our wounds,
burning, bleeding

the pain’s not
not enough

but it’s hard to
believe

wounds can’t
heal until

we’re finally
set free.

refusing to believe
we’re still here

falling, tripping
into our own fears

ever-present but
not really here

only existing,
and living
in the afterlife.

reaching the light,
chemicals collide,

we’re one step
closer to the other side.