Venus-as-a-girl
I am forbidden
to own property
but he wants me to own him.
He sees me as an aristocrat
when I am impoverished.
I am fettered to a marriage
where I am a slave
by being his dominatrix
and he is a despot
by being my slave.
When money finally arrives
he feeds me
whipped eggs
in hot milk
by the hour.
He dresses me
in a black velvet fur
that drags the ground,
so heavy
it weighs on my body.
I am relieved
our male child
does not look like him.
Sex-work-in-furs
He wants me
to sex work myself.
He wants me to find
people to fuck
so I will be
unfaithful to him.
He wants me to lug
a trunk full of furs
from hotel to hotel
in search of
remarkable love objects.
Venus-on-her-back
Does anyone care
about the reclining Venus?
Will the artist fuck her
after he paints her?
Does anyone care
about the standing Venus
as she holds the black fur
to her naked body?
Does anyone care
about ‘The Rape of Europa’
as she clings
to the bull’s horns?
Titian painting Europa
with a sublime look
while being raped.
I saw the demonic horns
of cattle
after I was raped.
But I am not a complicit
misrepresentation
in a painting.
Poems sought inspiration in the book, The Confessions of Wanda von Sacher-Masoch, by the wife of Leopold von Sacher-Masoch author of Venus in Furs. Research Publications. San Francisco, CA. 1990.
Author Bio:
Gabrielle has a PhD in Creative Writing. The second edition of her book Dona Juanita and the love of boys was published with Buon-Cattivi Press. John Kinsella included the second edition of Dona Juanita and the love of boys as one of the best poetry books for 2020 in Australian Book Review. She has been published in numerous anthologies including The Penguin Anthology of Australian Poetry. She has performed her poetry at La Mama, The Bowery in New York and The Edinburgh Fringe Festival. She has also performed her work at The Evil Woman conference in Vienna and Prague.
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I love these poems!