Allen Ginsberg’s openness about his homosexuality didn’t just make him controversial, it made him politically significant during the second half of the 20th century. And his infamous “Please Master” is Exhibit A of just how open he could be.

This ode to BDSM certainly opened my eyes when I accidentally discovered it in middle school while doing research at my small-town public library. As I began to read it, I didn’t even realize it was about gay relationship until, upon closer inspection, I discovered there were actually two sets of balls in play, since at the tender, narcissistic age of 14 in the deep 80s, I probably wasn’t even aware there were alternatives to heterosexuality. Not only did I learn that day that gay sex was a real thing, I learned that it could be super dirty and full of love. (Fortunately, I had the good sense not to share it with my 8th grade English class.)

Here’s the Beat King reading the poem in full. The first few barely safe-for-work lines are below — and it only gets more intense from there.

Please Master
by Allen Ginsberg

 Visit Hello Poetry for the full poem.

Want more G-rated Ginsberg?
Read His Grocery Date with Walt Whitman