Pleasure in pain Desire of mortification To achieve the extreme To know the ultimate To be a slave for a moment The body offered up to cruelty To the lash which whips on the skin Which slashes the flesh, lacerates the back To feel the blood, thick and warm Flow over my wounds Flagellation... To thrust aside the limits To say yes to death Without fear, without remorse To give up oneself to torture Punishment and reward The whip is ambiguous It distills vice In a perverse refinement To be a slave for a moment The body offered up to cruelty To the lash which whips on the skin Which slashes the flesh, lacerates the back