A Master's Loss

As I sit and look at the shackles upon the ground at my feet
I see the empty after all these year I wonder
When did they begin to hurt
When did they begin to choke and torture
I lift them from the ground and carry them to the wall
I wonder when did they get so heavy
That could the hold someone down so oppressively
That could crush the life out of someone yet they still breath
I place them upon the peg they were taken from so long ago
Then the sounds of the metal chain subsides
I wonder shall they be filled again?
If they are not I with scatter this life unto the sea
Like the ashes of a loved  one letting fade from memory
Never again will the whip caress the succulent flesh of another
Never again will crop discipline another firmed buttocks
As I look into the mirror I see the death of complacency looming over my shoulder.
I stare into its eyes and vow to destroy it.
When I do what will become of me
Would I become a man possessed
Perhaps a man destroyed
All I know is I have to become a man capable of receiving the gift of submission once again.
Perhaps then my beloved will return and the chain will comeback off the wall.