Inspired by this: (Ancient Roman Graffiti)

Whoever loves, go to hell. I want to break Venus’s ribs
with a club and deform her hips.
If she can break my tender heart
why can’t I hit her over the head?
-CIL IV, 1284

Illustration: The Decemvir Appius Claudius Lusts after Virginia Daughter of Virginius
Artist: Augustyn Mirys

His lust sears the loins like simmering coals,
then stokes and takes on a life of its own;
a flame heats the heart, through head to the soles:
a sadist, so's his soul, his every groan.
He’d divest her of her clothes, yes he would,
as he disrobes her with his irons’ eyes
and makes her beg for mercy ‘cause he could,
and rapes her as she cries, though fight she tries.
His lust is a punishing thing—it is,
it is—pillory of passion—she feels—
and overcome, succumbs to hers, to his:
the steel she is, the molten moment seals.
He closes his eyes; it is all too real:
He dreams, loves too much to touch his ideal.

© Helga Ross 2007