Bound
"Bound" is a poem I wrote in my early teens about a form of self-imposed bondage. It appeared in my high school literary journal.
Bound
by Michael R. Burch, age 14-15
Now it is Winter—the coldest Night.
And as the light of the streetlamp casts strange shadows to the ground,
I have lost what I once found
in your arms.
Now it is Winter—the coldest Night.
and as the light of distant Venus fails to penetrate dark panes,
I have remade all my chains
and am bound.
This poem appeared in my high school literary journal, the Lantern. I seem to remember writing "Bound" around age 14 or 15. It was originally titled "Why Did I Go?" I have made slight changes but the poem is essentially the same as what I wrote in my early teens.
To me it says best never to make a gift of one's fire, it could backfire, and leave one bound and chained, like a famous Titanic figure. The poem is suggestive.