Carol Ann Duffy, 'Warming her Pearls'
Next to my own skin, her pearls. My mistress
bids me wear them, warm them, until evening
when I’ll brush her hair. At six, I place them
round her cool, white throat. All day think of her,
resting in the Yellow room, contemplating silk
or taffeta, which gown tonight? She fans herself
whilst I work willingly, my slow heat entering
each pearl. Slack on my neck, her rope.
She’s beautiful. I dream about her
in my attic bed; picture her dancing
with tall men, puzzled by my faint persistent scent
beneath her French perfume, her milky stones.
I dust her shoulders with a rabbit’s foot,
watch the soft blush seep through her skin
like an indolent sigh. In her looking-glass
my red lips part as though I want to speak.
Full moon. Her carriage brings her home. I see
her every movement in my head … Undressing,
taking off her jewels, her slim hand reaching
for the case, slipping naked into bed, the way
she always does … And I lie here awake,
knowing the pearls are cooling even now
in the room where my mistress sleeps. All night
I feel their absence and I burn.
Carol Ann Duffy.
Sexy! The kind of poem 18 year-old lesbians love. I remember loving it. Not quite sure what to say about the class dynamics in this poem now, but the mistress-servant relationship is an old convention in lesbian erotica.