The Whipping Post
It’s a lonely place – the whipping post.
A place of private, public pain;
A place to dance,
To the tune of sting.
A place to flail and wail and sing,
A soliloquy of suffering,
And of despair,
To a gathered crowd
Who do not care.
For they are free,
And shall never taste,
The biting burn
Of a back disgraced.
It’s a lonely place – the whipping post.
The place where the slave
Suffers the most.
Yes indeed – although the prisoner-slave on the whipping post is surrounded by other people, he is very much alone; alone in his pain and shame, as the others are here not to suffer, but to enjoy, the spectacle of the whip.
Particular points to note about this scene:
· The slave is very much the centre of attention, but probably wishes he wasn’t. This is one painful posting he could do without! Ha! Ha!
· On the far left of the scene is the sombrely attired, elderly Gynarchy magistrate-sir – the man who passed sentence down on the prisoner-slave, and who did not spare him the whip! He has come to enjoy the fruits of his sentencing, as well he might.
· With him is his excitable, Asian girlfriend, who is shouting mocking obscenities at the prisoner-slave (in Chinese – but still unmistakably mocking obscenities!). Note that she is wearing a fetching pair of dark grey biker-boots. She is a truly feisty and energetic, young woman, who would dearly love to grab hold of the whip and use it herself on the prisoner-slave at the whipping post. Maybe she will be permitted to – later on.
· Next to the magistrate-sir, and his would-be flogging ‘floozy’, are the slave’s actual owners – Ms Karen madam and master Phillip sir. Note how Ms Karen is pointing at her slave and laughing at him in his pain and distress. Serves him right, she is saying (whatever he has done – she and her manly husband can’t quite remember what they had accused their slave of which lead to his public whipping, but, whatever it was, he obviously deserves it, since he is just a slave and therefore perpetually subject to the whip whether he’s guilty of anything or not!)
· Meanwhile master Phillip sir has placed a loving and protective arm around his wife’s torso, though he appears to be simultaneously fondling her breasts – to her evident satisfaction and approval.
· Note how Ms Karen madam has chosen to wear her knee-high nylons with her black leather ankle boots – just to add to the slave’s suffering and discomfort (for she knows he admires her dark nylons very much and must be yearning to get down on his hands and knees in order to ‘nose’ them!)
· In front of the happy couple is the wooden ‘humble horse’, used to transport the slave through the streets to this wasteland whipping post. How everyone had laughed at him, and mocked him, as he was paraded painfully on the horse, knowing that he was about to be whipped. No wonder the flogging has attracted a sizeable crowd of eager onlookers.
· See how even the aforementioned, inanimate humble horse appears to be enjoying the spectacle of the slave’s whipping. I suppose that’s because it knows there is no point in flogging a dead horse, and that it too, therefore, like the human onlookers around it, is immune from being whipped?
· On the right hand side of the whipping post are two fantastic, young ladies - a bright black girl in a bright dress; and Ms Arabella madam – one of the slave’s regular visitors at his public shoelick-stand in smokers’ corner. Note how Ms Arabella madam, chain smoker that she is, is enjoying yet another cigarette as she witnesses the slave’s whipping. The slave should feel honoured that one of his regular customer-mistresses has deigned to take time out of her busy, unemployed schedule to come and see his pain and suffering at the hands of the Female Authorities. But, to be clear, she’s not here to offer him support or sympathy; rather, she’s here to gloat, for she has never liked her local, public footservant. She despises him – every bit as much as he admires her!
· Note how Ms Arabella madam is wearing her ubiquitous, and thus highly familiar to the slave, plain grey flats with matching plain, grey socks – even though she is wearing her equally familiar bright, pink jacket which, along with her super long, dark black hair, serve to emphasise her great beauty and femininity.
· The black girl in the brightly-coloured summer dress is equally beautiful, but the slave has not (yet) had the privilege of serving her feet and footwear. He knows that for a fact because he never forgets a pretty foot – and her feet are particularly pretty, clad as they are in a pair of open-toed, high-heeled, summery sandals. Not the most practical of footwear in the muddy wasteground surrounding the whipping post – but well worth a kiss once he is released from his bonds and collapses into the dirt at her feet (protocol dictates that he must kiss the feet of all his onlookers as soon as he is released back onto his hands and knees, and must praise and bless them for witnessing his whipping).
· The black beauty seems curious at the whip-pain no doubt etched onto the slave’s forlorn face. But curiosity is all she shall ever experience in this regard for she, being a free young woman o the Gynarchy, shall never experience the biting burn of the whip on her back. Like all young women of the Gynarchy, she is above the Law – and always will be. And rightly so!
· Ha! Ha! Even the dog, snarling and growling at the prisoner-slave’s whipped side, is immune from the whip, so it too can relax and enjoy the spectacle.
· Finally, we must, of course, express our admiration for the whipper – Gynarchy security-guard mistress Ms Aneka madam. See how professionally she has painted the slave’s back, with well-spaced-out whip marks. And note how shiny her black uniform boots remain, despite their moving around energetically in the mud as she woman-wields the whip.
· Right now, however, she appears to be taking a breather, and is asking the prisoner-slave how he is liking it, politely enquiring whether the pain is sharp enough for him, or would he like some more? Needless to say, it’s not actually up to him whether or not he receives any more stinging stripes across his shameful back. The number of lashes was predetermined by the magnificent magistrate-sir when he passed sentence down upon the slave. But Ms Aneka madam knows the stupid slave will have lost count by now, and she finds it amusing to taunt the innumerate fool with the idea that he is somehow in control of his pain and suffering – which he most definitely is not! He is, in actuality, very much at her sweet feminine mercy. And Ms Aneka madam is not known for being kind to slaves (that’s what makes her such a good taskmistress and whipper in the first place!)
· And we should mention the whip itself – such an important element in the punishment proceedings. It appears to be a fairly standard, single-tailed, Gynarchy cowhide whip – made of supple, brown leather, and just the right length to wrap around a male slave’s torso as it cracks through the sound barrier down onto his soft skin. Ms Aneka madam loves the swish of the whip through the air, and will even swing it several times before each strike – just to add to the tension and fear in the slave’s body. Like we said before, she is a young woman who really knows how to whip. Fair play to her!
· The final thing to note about this happy scene is that the prisoner-slave’s betters have all chosen to stand in front of the whipping post so that they can see the pain reactions on his face – a much better indication of suffering than the sores on his back caused by the cuts of the whip.
Don’t you wish we too could see his face? Oh well, at least we can see his suffering reflected in the happiness of the faces surrounding him. And just be grateful it’s not you that is secured to the whipping post, slave. Not on this occasion, anyway!
