Poem: "Teaching the Ropes"
Oct. 19th, 2012 02:29 am![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
ysabetwordsmithThis poem fills a square on my card for the ![[community profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/community.png)
kink_bingo fest. This fest encourages people to push the limits of their comfort zone by creating erotica, pr0n, smut, and other sexy stuff in the many flavors of kinky, sensual, and otherwise exotic activities. I'm hoping to attract some new readers for my writing.
The following poem belongs to my Hart's Farm series, which is historic fantasy set in Sweden ~1850. This is one of my most sex-positive series. Hart's Farm is what I write to remind people that it's possible to have work you love and happy, healthy relationships of diverse types. It's where I turn when I get tired of the cruddy art imitating cruddy life that fills so much of the mainstream. This series has over a dozen poems already linked on the Serial Poetry page if you want to read more.
Fandoms: Original (Hart's Farm)
Kink: Ropes/chains
Medium: Poetry
Summary/Preview: Rowen wants to learn about the joy of rope. Svanhilda is happy to provide a lesson.
Content Notes: No standard notes apply.
Additional Information: NSFW. Canonical trans/genderqueer character: Rowen is trans/genderqueer, having a male body with a feminine personality in a context where there's nothing more to be done about it than wear women's clothes and take a woman's social role. Canonical asexual character (Rowen is biromantic asexual).
"Teaching the Ropes"
Rowen has gotten curious about
this thing that Svanhilda does with ropes.
She has seen Svanhilda hang Aisling from a tree
like an apple, and knot Inge into a kind of corset.
Rowen does not know
whether she would like this herself,
doing or being done to,
but it is simple enough to find out and
Svanhilda has offered to teach her the ropes.
Nearby, Aisling kneels silently, watching the lesson.
First Svanhilda shows Rowen the coils of rope:
coarse hemp and softer cotton and sumptuous silk.
She speaks of the texture and strength,
how well each type holds and releases knots,
the kind of care required for storage.
Rowen pulls a length of hemp across her palm
to feel the prickly strands of fiber.
"Do you want rope over skin, or rope over cloth?"
Svanhilda asks Rowen, teasing her with a loop of silk.
"I don't know," Rowen says. "Maybe some of each?
I could take off just my dress."
Svanhilda nods, and Rowen steps out of her dress.
She leaves her slip and drawers in place,
feeling more herself when wearing women's clothes,
but now her arms are bare and most of her legs.
Rowen waits for the first touch of rope.
Svanhilda starts with the hemp,
wrapping it over Rowen's pelvis,
around and between the legs of her drawers.
Through the thin fabric, Rowen can feel the rope
covering and protecting her.
She relaxes into its embrace.
Svanhilda changes to cotton then,
slowly cinching Rowen's waist like a corset,
working up over her chest
and then separating the ends to loop and tie
in pale macramé down each arm.
Rowen breathes and wriggles against the rope,
feeling it all around her like a long thin hug.
She likes touching and being touched,
although she does not touch all the same places
that other people do; but those places are now
hidden underneath heavy hemp and lighter cotton.
The rope does not care, merely holds her close,
its knots and loops rubbing pleasantly against her.
"Comfortable?" Svanhilda asks,
and Rowen has to think about that,
because it all feels so different.
She is tied up but not tied down,
able to move yet bound.
"I'm comfortable," Rowen decides.
Next Svanhilda shows Rowen
how to use rope on someone else.
The pattern is very simple,
and so are the knots,
the rope itself delicate silk
that will not chafe against bare skin.
Aisling is beautiful as she kneels
on the polished wood floor,
her long red hair falling in soft waves.
Rowen handles her with care,
pulling the red silk through the loops
and knots as Svanhilda indicates.
Aisling waits patiently as they ply the rope.
Rowen thinks about how the ropes are
cradling her own body in firm support,
striving to give that same sense of comfort
to someone else, conveying without words
that this is safe and secure and good.
Only when Aisling is bound hand and foot
does Svanhilda call a halt to the lesson.
She undoes the complicated ropework
from Rowen's body, and Rowen flushes
at the sudden rush of heat and breath.
Svanhilda watches as Rowen puts her dress on.
"Why don't you pick someone for Aisling
on your way out?" Svanhilda says.
"You know who she likes."
Aisling squirms happily in her bonds.
She likes surprises very much.
Rowen goes outside and looks around.
There is Arnvid with his hands empty for once,
probably not in the middle of some carpentry task.
"Svanhilda has a package for you,"
Rowen says, "all tied up in pretty twine."
Arnvid nods to her and steps inside.
Rowen goes to her own bedroom then
and lies down with her clothes still on.
She thinks about what she has learned.
The pleasure still simmers in her body,
all along the lines where the ropes went.
Rowen does not feel compelled to do anything
except lie there and feel it.
kink_bingo fest. This fest encourages people to push the limits of their comfort zone by creating erotica, pr0n, smut, and other sexy stuff in the many flavors of kinky, sensual, and otherwise exotic activities. I'm hoping to attract some new readers for my writing.The following poem belongs to my Hart's Farm series, which is historic fantasy set in Sweden ~1850. This is one of my most sex-positive series. Hart's Farm is what I write to remind people that it's possible to have work you love and happy, healthy relationships of diverse types. It's where I turn when I get tired of the cruddy art imitating cruddy life that fills so much of the mainstream. This series has over a dozen poems already linked on the Serial Poetry page if you want to read more.
Fandoms: Original (Hart's Farm)
Kink: Ropes/chains
Medium: Poetry
Summary/Preview: Rowen wants to learn about the joy of rope. Svanhilda is happy to provide a lesson.
Content Notes: No standard notes apply.
Additional Information: NSFW. Canonical trans/genderqueer character: Rowen is trans/genderqueer, having a male body with a feminine personality in a context where there's nothing more to be done about it than wear women's clothes and take a woman's social role. Canonical asexual character (Rowen is biromantic asexual).
"Teaching the Ropes"
Rowen has gotten curious about
this thing that Svanhilda does with ropes.
She has seen Svanhilda hang Aisling from a tree
like an apple, and knot Inge into a kind of corset.
Rowen does not know
whether she would like this herself,
doing or being done to,
but it is simple enough to find out and
Svanhilda has offered to teach her the ropes.
Nearby, Aisling kneels silently, watching the lesson.
First Svanhilda shows Rowen the coils of rope:
coarse hemp and softer cotton and sumptuous silk.
She speaks of the texture and strength,
how well each type holds and releases knots,
the kind of care required for storage.
Rowen pulls a length of hemp across her palm
to feel the prickly strands of fiber.
"Do you want rope over skin, or rope over cloth?"
Svanhilda asks Rowen, teasing her with a loop of silk.
"I don't know," Rowen says. "Maybe some of each?
I could take off just my dress."
Svanhilda nods, and Rowen steps out of her dress.
She leaves her slip and drawers in place,
feeling more herself when wearing women's clothes,
but now her arms are bare and most of her legs.
Rowen waits for the first touch of rope.
Svanhilda starts with the hemp,
wrapping it over Rowen's pelvis,
around and between the legs of her drawers.
Through the thin fabric, Rowen can feel the rope
covering and protecting her.
She relaxes into its embrace.
Svanhilda changes to cotton then,
slowly cinching Rowen's waist like a corset,
working up over her chest
and then separating the ends to loop and tie
in pale macramé down each arm.
Rowen breathes and wriggles against the rope,
feeling it all around her like a long thin hug.
She likes touching and being touched,
although she does not touch all the same places
that other people do; but those places are now
hidden underneath heavy hemp and lighter cotton.
The rope does not care, merely holds her close,
its knots and loops rubbing pleasantly against her.
"Comfortable?" Svanhilda asks,
and Rowen has to think about that,
because it all feels so different.
She is tied up but not tied down,
able to move yet bound.
"I'm comfortable," Rowen decides.
Next Svanhilda shows Rowen
how to use rope on someone else.
The pattern is very simple,
and so are the knots,
the rope itself delicate silk
that will not chafe against bare skin.
Aisling is beautiful as she kneels
on the polished wood floor,
her long red hair falling in soft waves.
Rowen handles her with care,
pulling the red silk through the loops
and knots as Svanhilda indicates.
Aisling waits patiently as they ply the rope.
Rowen thinks about how the ropes are
cradling her own body in firm support,
striving to give that same sense of comfort
to someone else, conveying without words
that this is safe and secure and good.
Only when Aisling is bound hand and foot
does Svanhilda call a halt to the lesson.
She undoes the complicated ropework
from Rowen's body, and Rowen flushes
at the sudden rush of heat and breath.
Svanhilda watches as Rowen puts her dress on.
"Why don't you pick someone for Aisling
on your way out?" Svanhilda says.
"You know who she likes."
Aisling squirms happily in her bonds.
She likes surprises very much.
Rowen goes outside and looks around.
There is Arnvid with his hands empty for once,
probably not in the middle of some carpentry task.
"Svanhilda has a package for you,"
Rowen says, "all tied up in pretty twine."
Arnvid nods to her and steps inside.
Rowen goes to her own bedroom then
and lies down with her clothes still on.
She thinks about what she has learned.
The pleasure still simmers in her body,
all along the lines where the ropes went.
Rowen does not feel compelled to do anything
except lie there and feel it.
(no subject)
Date: 2012-10-19 09:14 pm (UTC)*blink* That's not *supposed* to be my kink, but...
Two-spirits?
I think it is you have opened a door a crack... one carefully sniffs about...
More, please?
Thoughts
Date: 2012-10-19 09:40 pm (UTC)I'm pleased that it's holding your attention even so.
>> Two-spirits? <<
Some further reading:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Two-Spirit
http://twospirits.org/
http://androgyne.0catch.com/2spiritx.htm
http://www.amazon.com/Two-Spirit-People-American-Sexuality-Spirituality/dp/0252066456
>>I think it is you have opened a door a crack... one carefully sniffs about...<<
I'm happy to be of service, and will help if I can.
>> More, please? <<
Next up in
Re: Thoughts
Date: 2012-10-21 12:10 am (UTC)I especially like this:
Rowen does not know
whether she would like this herself,
doing or being done to,
but it is simple enough to find out and
Svanhilda has offered to teach her the ropes.
for the implication that it's okay to not know what you want, okay to try things to find out, and okay to say "No, never mind, not for me" in a teaching situation.
Re: Thoughts
Date: 2012-10-21 12:34 am (UTC)Thank you!
>> For what it's worth, that "hugged" feeling is pretty much how I reacted to the mummification demo (although I was being wrapped in Ace bandages rather than rope). <<
That seems to be a common theme in rope play, extending across many other types of bondage. People often like the sensation of being held. I have to wonder if it connects to the same thing that makes swaddling work for babies.
>> it's okay to not know what you want, okay to try things to find out, and okay to say "No, never mind, not for me" in a teaching situation. <<
That's an important feature of healthy learning situations -- the opportunity to explore, to make mistakes, to find out what you do and don't like.
Re: Thoughts
Date: 2012-10-21 12:35 am (UTC)Also...
Date: 2012-10-19 09:47 pm (UTC)(no subject)
Date: 2012-10-20 02:34 am (UTC)Thank you!
Date: 2012-10-20 03:53 am (UTC)(no subject)
Date: 2012-10-20 02:59 am (UTC)The Doctor thinks you may want to take out a space:
Fixed!
Date: 2012-10-26 12:43 am (UTC)(no subject)
Date: 2024-03-20 08:05 am (UTC)Thank you!
Date: 2024-03-20 08:22 am (UTC)